HC judges to meet 14-year-old ‘bride’ Rebecca Samervel, TNN, Mar 23, 2010,

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday ordered that the 14-year-old girl involved in a child marriage conflict be produced in the judge’s chamber for an interview next week. The girl is currently lodged at a child welfare home in Andheri.

A division bench of Justice D B Bhosale and Justice A R Joshi said: “Till we meet the girl, none of her family members or relatives will be allowed to meet her.’’ The high court was hearing a petition filed by the girl’s mother challenging police intervention in her daughter’s marriage. Zakia Begum’s petition also seeks her daughter’s release from the remand home.

Zakia’s minor daughter was set to be married last December. Acting on a complaint filed by the girl’s uncle, the police intervened and produced the girl before the Child Welfare Committee(CWC), which sent her to a children remand home.

Under the Muslim Personal Law, a girl can marry once she attains puberty, but the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) stipulates that a girl can only be married after she turns 18. Last week, the high court admitted intervention applications filed by two NGOs—Awaaz-e-Niswan and Forum Against Oppression of Women—asking to be heard in the case.

On Monday, senior counsel Yusuf Muchala, appearing for the Personal Law Board, one the respondents , said, “On December 18, the girl’s parents had submitted to the CWC an unconditional undertaking stating that they would not get her married and that they be granted the custody of their daughter. But the CWC is yet to decide on the application,” he said. Seeking the girl’s release, Muchala pointed out the child’s final exams were to take place soon. Muchala sought time to deal with the “intricate problem” stating he needs to consult scholars.

In her petition, Zakia had challenged the validity of the PCMA, stating that it violated her right to follow the Muslim Personal Law.