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Petition in HC seeks to nullify all child marriages performed in Delhi
The Delhi high court on Monday sought the response of the Delhi government on a plea to declare all child marriages in the national capital as “invalid”
The Delhi high court on Monday sought the response of the Delhi government on a plea to declare all child marriages in the national capital as “invalid”.
A bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on the petition by a woman who has also sought to nullify her wedding which was allegedly performed when she was a minor.
The woman has also sought a declaration from the court that every child marriage performed in the state should be null and void right from the onset.
The court issued notices to her father, brother and husband seeking their response to the plea before February 12, the next date of hearing.
According to the woman, represented by advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, when her wedding was performed in April 2010, she had no option but to give her consent as at that time, she was awaiting her class 10 results and could not go against her parents’ wishes.
The woman, who claims to be born on December 10, 1993, said she was residing peacefully with her parents till November 19, 2020, when the person to whom she was married as a child came with his parents to take her to Gujarat with them.
When she objected, she was allegedly beaten up by her brother at the behest of the husband. Subsequently, she escaped from her home on November 20, 2020, and has remained in hiding since then, the petitioner claimed. She also sought protection from the husband and her family.
Advocate Mir told the bench that his client was staying at an undisclosed location as she feared that her family would force her to agree to the live with a marriage that was performed when she was a minor.
