Give serious thought to UCC, says Delhi HC

THE HIGH COURT HAS STRESSED ON THE URGENT NEED FOR CLARITY ON THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND INDIAN LAWS ON CHILD MARRIAGES

- Shruti Kakkar

The Delhi high court has sought serious consideration of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and underscored the urgent need for legislative clarity on the conflict between Islamic and Indian laws on the legality and criminality of child marriages.

A bench of justice Arun Monga underscored the need in a ruling delivered on Thursday, observing that though Islamic law permits marriage of a minor girl upon attaining puberty, such unions render the husband an offender, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso).

The judge said that the legislature needed to resolve this issue by either continuing with criminalisation under existing statutes or by ensuring legal certainty, and suggested that a pragmatic path could be to standardise core protections, such as prohibiting child marriages across the board with penal consequences.