POCSO and IPC above the personal laws : Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru (Karnataka) – In two separate cases, the Karnataka High Court has held that the POCSO Act and IPC override Muslim personal law regarding the age of marriage. In the first case, the HC rejected the contention that “under Mohammedan Law, puberty is the consideration for marriage and normal puberty age is treated as 15 years and hence, no commission of offence under Section 9 and 10 of the Child Marriage Restrain Act,” was committed.

#Karnataka HC while issuing a judgement on a case against a man marrying and impregnating a minor Muslim girl, observed that #POCSO Act supersedes personal law like Mohammedan Law.

By @sagayrajp https://t.co/2VbMSNKuYK

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) October 31, 2022

When a 27-year-old man brought his wife to the hospital for delivery, it was known that she was only 17-year-old. At that time he was charged under the POCSO act and the Child Marriage Restrain Act. In another case, a 19-year-old boy raped a 16-year-old girl. In both cases the culprits and the victims were Muslims. In both cases it was claimed that the girl’s age was over 15 years and hence, these acts cannot be considered to be a crime. That time, the Court gave the above decision.