Child marriage: All-India Muslim Personal Law Board to approach Supreme Court

GUWAHATI: The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam, a member of its working committee said on Monday.

The decision was taken at a board meeting in Lucknow on Sunday, Gauhati High Court senior advocate and committee member Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury said. "I raised the issue, and there was a detailed discussion on this," he said.

A case related to the minimum age of Muslim girls getting married is pending before the Supreme Court. "According to Muslim personal law, a girl belonging to the Muslim community can get married after she attains the age of 15. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana in a verdict, said that a Muslim girl can marry a man of her choice once she is 15 years old. These types of marriages are not illegal even as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006," said Choudhury.

However, the high court judgement was challenged in the apex court by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The senior advocate informed that the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board would appeal to become a party in the above case.

"Although this case is not connected with Assam, both matters are related to the fixing of the minimum age of females for getting married. Therefore, we would like to be a party to it," he added. Choudhury alleged that the Assam Government has not followed laws while arresting people on the child marriage issue.

"Child marriage must be stopped, but before taking any such actions, the government should first spread awareness against it," he added. IANS

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