Plea to declare all child marriages in Delhi as void: HC seeks AAP govt stand

Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of AAP government on a plea to declare all child marris performed in national capital as void ab initio (to be treated as invalid from outset).

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued tice to Delhi government and sought its stand on petition by a woman who has also sought to nullify her marri which was allegedly performed when she was a mir. court also issued tice to her far, bror and man she was married to seeking ir response to plea before February 12, next date of hearing.

woman, represented by advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, has challenged a provision of Prohibition of Child Marri Act which makes a wedding of mirs voidable only at option of eir of parties who was a child at time of event. petitioner has sought a declaration from court that every child marri performed in state should be void ab-initio.

Mir, during hearing, told bench that his client was staying at an undisclosed location as she apprehended that her family would force her to agree to child marri which was performed in April 2010 when she was a mir. petitioner, also represented by advocates Gurpreet Singh, Mohit D Ram, Bakul Jain and Jatin Sethi, furr claims that person to whom she was married when she was a mir was son of her maternal aunt.

woman, who claims to be born on December 10, 1993, has contended that when her marri was performed in April 2010 she had option but to give her consent as at that time she was awaiting her class 10 results and could t go against her parents wish. woman, who takes private tuitions for specially abled students, said she was residing peacefully with her parents till vember 19, 2020 when person to whom she was married to as a child came with his parents to take her to Gujarat with m.When she objected, she was allegedly beaten up by her bror in front of everyone at behest of man she was married.

Subsequently, she escaped from her home on vember 20, 2020 and is in hiding ever since, petition has said and has also sought protection for woman from respondent 2 and her family. 

(IM CREDITS:PTI)