Why it is in the news
On 23 September 2026, Justice Sanjeev Narula of the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition to quash an FIR registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a man who had married a girl aged 16 years and three months under Muslim personal law. The Court held that such a marriage confers no immunity from prosecution where the wife is below 18: personal law “may determine whether a marriage has been contracted”, but cannot create an exception to a criminal law “where Parliament has provided none”.
The exam angle
Issue: Where a marriage valid under personal law involves a girl below 18, should the secular criminal law of child protection prevail over the personal law of marriage — and should that answer come from the courts or from Parliament?