17 Year Old Muslim Woman Can Enter Into A Marriage With The Person She Chooses: P&H HC

• The Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana HC has held that a Muslim woman who is 17 years old can validly enter into a contract of marriage and she does not need the permission or the consent of her parents or guardian in doing so.
• In the instant case titled Nargis and anr. vs. State of Punjab and ors. the Hon’ble HC was dealing with a plea of mandamus in which a couple (33 year old Hindu man and 17 year old Muslim woman) had married according to Hindu rites and rituals and were threatened by the members of the woman’s community. Distressed, they had moved the writ of mandamus seeking protection of their life and liberty.
• It was the petitioner’s contention that according to Muslim law, puberty and majority mean the same thing and a Muslim attains the right to get married to any person of their choice on attaining puberty, which is presumed on the completion of 15 years. In support of this contention, the petitioner cited various cases, some of them being Kammu vs. State of Haryana and ors.(2010), Yunus Khan vs. State of Haryana(2014) and Mohd. Samim vs. State of Haryana and ors.(2019). A reference was also made to Article 195 of the ‘Principles of Mohammedan Law’ by Sir Mulla which states that every muslim who is of sound mind and has attained majority can enter into a valid marriage.
• The Hon’ble Court, completely agreeing with the contentions of the petitioner, granted the writ of mandamus. The Court observed that it is not the case of going into the validity of the marriage. Instead, the instant case has arisen because of the threat that is posed to the life and liberty of the petitioners.
• The court further emphasised that the mere fact that the petitioners got married without the consent of their respective family members does not deprive them of the fundamental right to life and liberty as guaranteed to every citizen of India under article 21 of the Constitution.

And now, a question for our aspirants-
The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) BIll, 2021 seeks to increase the marriagable age of women to _______ years.