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The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 19) said that falling in love is not a crime. It cannot be made a crime in any way. The court said that if a young boy and girl are in love and their age is slightly less than that of adulthood, then they should be left alone. The court mentioned these things during the hearing of a case.
In fact, the Supreme Court refused to hear the petition of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in an important case related to the minimum age of marriage of Muslim girls. The court made it clear that the Commission was not a party in this case, so it has no right to challenge the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
What is the whole matter
In 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a case considered the love marriage of a 21-year-old Muslim youth and a 16-year-old Muslim girl as valid under Muslim Personal Law. The matter reached the court when the married couple approached the High Court for their safety. The High Court recognized their marriage by providing security to the couple. The NCPCR had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this decision of the High Court.
The court showed strictness regarding the matter
During the hearing, the bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna on Tuesday asked the commission in a strict tone that what does NCPCR have to do with this matter? When both of them have married of their own free will and the High Court has given them protection, then how can the Commission challenge this order?
Justice Nagarathna commented that if the High Court gives protection to two children, then NCPCR cannot say that they should not be given protection. The Commission has no justification to challenge this order.
What did the NCPCR lawyer argue?
The NCPCR lawyer said in his argument that he was raising a question of law whether a girl below 18 years of age can be considered legally eligible to marry on the basis of personal law alone. However, the bench said that no question of law arises in this case. The Supreme Court also rejected the petition filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) on this issue.
What was the response to POCSO
The court said about POCSO that this law is an important means to protect children from sexual abuse, but it is still important to differentiate between true relationships and relationships with criminal behavior. Justice Nagarathna asked whether falling in love can be considered a crime.
