Court holds personal law, family consent and the girl’s willingness cannot override statutory protection for children below 18; says marriage does not legalise sex with a minor wife.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), ruling that a marriage under Muslim personal law does not shield an adult from prosecution for sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age.
Justice Sanjeev Narula, while deciding the plea filed by Bilal and another petitioner, held that even if the marriage is assumed to be valid under Muslim personal law, it cannot create an exception to a secular penal statute where Parliament has not provided one. The Court emphasized that consent of a minor wife has no legal efficacy under POCSO or the BNS.
According to the judgment, the girl was born on 19 September 2008 and married the petitioner on 20 December 2024, when she was 16 years and 3 months old. The couple lived together, and the matter came to light when the girl visited a government hospital during pregnancy. After the hospital informed the authorities that the patient was a minor, the police registered FIR No. 189/2026 at Daryaganj Police Station.
The petitioners argued that under Muslim personal law, a girl who has attained puberty is competent to marry, and therefore the relationship could not attract criminal liability. They also pointed out that the girl had consistently stated that the marriage and subsequent relationship were voluntary and supported by both families.
Rejecting this contention, the Court held that POCSO fixes 18 as the age below which sexual consent has no legal validity, and that the BNS similarly withholds the marital exception where the wife is under 18. The Court said the law draws a bright-line rule and courts cannot substitute puberty, maturity, family approval or voluntariness in place of the statutory age threshold.
The Court also relied on Supreme Court precedents, including Independent Thought v. Union of India and Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action v. Union of India, to reiterate that marriage does not dilute the penal protection available to a girl below 18. It further noted that POCSO contains an overriding clause and that prosecution is not dependent on a complaint by the child or her parents. Once the hospital reported that the pregnant patient was a minor, the statutory reporting mechanism was triggered.
Bottom Line :
POCSO Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 - Muslim personal law recognising marriage on attainment of puberty does not create immunity from prosecution for sexual intercourse with wife below eighteen years - Consent of minor wife, family approval and subsisting marriage cannot displace statutory protection under POCSO and BNS - FIR registered on disclosure of pregnancy of minor wife at Government hospital held not liable to be quashed.
The petitioners had also sought disciplinary action against police officials and compensation, claiming false implication. The Court rejected those prayers as well, holding that registration and investigation of a cognizable offence could not be termed illegal. It clarified, however, that its observations were limited to the quashing petition and would not affect the trial court’s independent
Bilal v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi through SHO, (Delhi) : Law Finder Doc id # 2987219
