SC seeks Centre’s response to plea for uniform age of marriage for women -Abraham Thomas

-Hindustan Times

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a petition calling for a uniform age of marriage of 18 years be fixed for all women, regardless of their religion or personal laws. The plea also urged the court to end the “discrimination” existing between genders on the age of marriage by lowering the age for men to get married from 21 years to be at par with girls.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a petition calling for a uniform age of marriage of 18 years be fixed for all women, regardless of their religion or personal laws. The plea also urged the court to end the “discrimination” existing between genders on the age of marriage by lowering the age for men to get married from 21 years to be at par with girls.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha issued notice to the Centre and the Law Commission on a petition filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

The petition, argued by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, questioned how penal laws in the country that make marriage of women below 18 years, regardless of their consent, a punishable offence do not apply to Muslim personal laws under which girls are eligible to get married on attaining puberty, i.e., 15 years of age.

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