In a significant judgment reinforcing the primacy of child protection statutes, the Allahabad High Court has held that Muslim personal law or Sharia cannot override the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, or the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The court ruled that the minimum age of marriage remains uniform across all religions and is governed by the PCMA, which prescribes 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.
A Division Bench comprising Justices J.J. Munir and Achal Sachdev delivered the judgment on July 1, 2026, while dismissing a writ petition filed by 19 persons, including Rubi and others, seeking to quash an FIR registered at Kakor police station in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. The FIR, lodged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, arose from an incident on February 15, 2026, when police and Child Line officials attempted to prevent the marriage of a 16-year-old Muslim girl named Sonam, daughter of Taufiq, in village Sunpeda Baksuwa.
The team had taken the minor into temporary custody to produce her before the Child Welfare Committee after receiving information about the impending child marriage. However, the petitioners allegedly abused, threatened and forcibly snatched the girl from the custody of a Child Line worker, endangering the officials before she was later rescued.
The petitioners had argued that under Sharia law, a Muslim girl becomes eligible for marriage upon reaching puberty, generally regarded as around 15 years of age. They contended that the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, and the Indian Majority Act, 1875, preserved this position and that the PCMA did not supersede personal laws in matters of marriage and capacity.
Rejecting these submissions, the court observed that no personal law can wipe out the prohibition of child marriage under the PCMA or dilute the protective provisions of the POCSO Act, which criminalises sexual intercourse with any child below 18 years. Justice Munir, who authored the judgment, stated: “The age of marriage, in our considered opinion, for every citizen of the country, irrespective of religion, is that which is spelt out by the PCMA. Also, it is equally true that if the marriage of a person below 18 years were permitted, carnal relations being inseparable almost from the institution of marriage, it would be an acknowledged violation of the POCSO Act.”
The bench further held that “the Shariat Law providing for puberty as the competent age under the law permissible for a girl to marry or be married, runs clearly in the teeth of the PCMA as well as the POCSO Act.”
The court emphasised that the PCMA and POCSO Act are statutes rooted in public health and national policy, backed by scientific understanding, and leave no scope for exemptions based on personal laws or customs. It noted that as a later, all-encompassing statute applicable to all citizens, the PCMA prevails over earlier exceptions carved out in laws such as the Majority Act, 1875. The bench aligned itself with the reasoning of the Kerala High Court in a similar matter and took note of observations by the Supreme Court highlighting conflicts between personal laws and child marriage prohibitions, though no final authoritative pronouncement has yet been made on the issue.
Finding that the police and Child Line team had acted lawfully and in bona fide discharge of their duties to prevent a potential violation of child protection laws, the High Court refused to quash the FIR. It held that the allegations of assault, threats and obstruction of public servants disclosed prima facie commission of cognizable offences that required thorough investigation. The interim stay on the investigation was vacated, and the order was directed to be communicated to the concerned authorities in Bulandshahr.
The ruling assumes importance amid differing views among High Courts on the applicability of PCMA and POCSO to marriages under personal laws. By affirming that child rights and protections under these special statutes cannot be overridden by religious personal laws, the Allahabad High Court has underscored the constitutional commitment to safeguarding minors from early marriage and sexual exploitation, irrespective of community or custom.
