Ambiguity about child marriages.

Eight years ago, two high courts allowed minor girls to marry after they acknowledged that they had eloped voluntarily with their beaus, leading the National Commission for Women to rush to the Supreme Court expressing fear that this would legitimize marriage of minors -- an offence under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

The NCW had said that given the wide disparity in various laws on the issue of marriageable age of girls, there was an urgent need to bring uniformity by addressing the question: "what is the correct statutory age for a girl to wed".

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was difficult to arrive at a straightjacket formula on marriageable age of girls to fit every case. "We do not find anything wrong in the two cases decided by the high courts," a bench of Justices J S Khehar and Dipak Misra said.

The Delhi High Court on October 5, 2005 and the Andhra Pradesh High Court on February 1, 2006 had allowed underage girls to marry their lovers after dropping kidnapping charges registered against the men by police.

While assuring those whose marriages were held valid by the HCs not to worry and carry on with their lives, the SC in 2006 asked all courts not to draw inspiration from these two HC orders.

The bench of Justices Khehar and Misra said on Wednesday, "How can we say all cases must fit to the same formula? As long as there is no extraneous consideration, coercion, malice, misuse or assault, the HCs were perfectly placed to pass these orders. The parties have remained together. The families have remained united."

NCW counsel Aparna Bhat said there were laws in conflict with "secular laws like Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and permitted underage girls to marry" and requested the court to find an answer.

The bench said, "The two cases dealt by the high courts were not those where the girls were lured away or enticed. Can we pass an order annulling the marriage now? Have the girls who have now become adults given a statement contrary to what they had told the HCs then? As far as uniformity of marriageable age is concerned, the NCW must approach the appropriate authority. Who are we to bring in uniformity."

The bench added NCW should register its protest when taking up cases where it finds the women were harassed, coerced or misused.

The court disposed of NCW's appeals filed against the two HC judgments but kept open NCW's plea for bringing in uniformity in legislations on marriageable age of girls.

It gave eight weeks to NCW and additional solicitor general Indira Jaising to hold consultations with stakeholders and report back to the court.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tough-to-fix-marriage-age-for-girls-Supreme-Court-says/articleshow/21320456.cms

The problem is - the court cannot change the society, neither the law can. That is the reason - bal vivah is illegal but they are not void automatically. If courts do not allow minors (as happened in the two cases) that means bal vivah can be done if guardians so desire but if the minors themselves are in love - they cannot marry till they attain the legal age of marriage (in the meantime, parents will forcibly marry - at least the girl to someone else).

They also play with words like void and voidance.The intention is not to be draconian but view each case with a human face.