LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A 14-year Muslim girl is 'arrested' from her home by Ghatkopar police in December last year, in connection with a supposed violation of Child Marriage Prohibition Act; as her relatives complaint to Police that she is underage and should not be married off. Instead of taking suitable action against her guardians or whoever is supposed to be answerable in such case, the arrest and detention of a young girl, can never be interpreted as anything other than high-handed justice meted out by the Police. How can she be confined to a prison like Child Welfare Committee institution against her will and become state ward in the true Dickensian fashion of convoluted justice, where her individual rights are so blatantly violated by the Police and other authorities. The police should know that she will be scarred for all her life and carry the stigma of a prison sentence for no fault of her and in the false pretext of protection of her interest. Is this the best a welfare state can do after 60 years of being liberated from the British standard of colonial justice?
Women's organisations too forget the plight of individuals that become the unwilling focus of wrangling between authorities and legalities, and keep barking up the wrong trees.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
HC to ask minor if she was forced to marry
The High Court has also issued notice to Additional Solicitor General of the Union of India to decide the legality of the claim made by girl’s mother that Muslims can marry on reaching puberty
By Mumbai Mirror Bureau
Posted On Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 02:24:55 AM
The Bombay High Court on Monday decided to interview the 15-year-old Muslim girl whose marriage was stalled by the Ghatkopar police in December last year after it received a complaint saying the girl was a minor and her marriage was in violation of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act. The High Court has also issued notice to the Additional Solicitor General in order to decide the legality of the petition filed by the girl’s mother, Zakia Begum, in which she had contended that Muslims in India were entitled to marry on attaining puberty as per his or her choice, and that freedom was integral part of their fundamental rights. The judges observed that this was an important issue that challenged certain provisions of the Constitution, and the Union of India should be made a party in this matter.  The girl, who was produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Mankhurd, was sent to a welfare home in Andheri. Her parents had then moved the High Court.A division bench of Justices D B Bhosale and A R Joshi will speak to the girl in their chamber next Monday afternoon and verify if she was forced into the marriage or consented to it before deciding to hand her over to her parents. Senior lawyer Yusuf Muchchhala, appearing for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (MPLB), sought the girl’s release from the private home in Andheri and requested the court that she be handed over to her parents. He argued that while the law clearly states that the girl’s interests must be protected, keeping her in the welfare home goes contrary to this as she is being punished. “The girl has been lodged in the welfare home since December. She is a school-going child who is being punished for no fault of hers,” said Muchchhala. He also apprised the court of the willingness of the girl’s parents to give unconditional undertaking that they will not marry her off till she attains the eligible age. The lawyer requested the court to grant interim relief in this case and allow the girl to be with her parents. Case background Zakia Begum, the minor girl’s mother, had filed a petition in HC saying that as per the MPL (Muslim Personal Law), Muslims in India were entitled to marry on attaining puberty as per their choice. Her daughter was scheduled to marry a Ghatkopar resident, but just a few hours before the marriage could be solemnised, Ghatkopar police took the bride in their custody. They booked the girl’s mother, maternal aunt, the groom and his parents under provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Zakia Begum then moved the HC for quashing of the FIR, and is seeking relief from the court to bring her daughter home. |
