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Muslim Personal Law No Shield for Sexual Offence Against Minor Wife Under POCSO: Delhi HC
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News18•26-09-2026, 18:11
Muslim Personal Law No Shield for Sexual Offence Against Minor Wife Under POCSO: Delhi HC
- •The Delhi High Court ruled that Muslim personal law cannot override statutory protections for minors under the POCSO Act.
- •Justice Sanjeev Narula stated that marriage under Muslim personal law does not grant immunity from prosecution under POCSO or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
- •The case involved a 28-year-old man accused of sexual relations with his 16-year-old wife, whose age was discovered during a hospital visit.
- •The court rejected arguments that puberty determines consent capacity or that personal law can create exceptions to criminal liability for minors.
- •The High Court refused to quash the FIR, emphasizing that allowing personal law as a defense would undermine statutory child protection.
Key Questions Answered
The Delhi High Court ruled that personal laws cannot override statutory protections, establishing that a marriage under Muslim personal law does not provide immunity from prosecution under the POCSO Act or the BNS when the wife is a minor.
The POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita firmly fix eighteen as the threshold for sexual consent, with the BNS expressly withholding any marital exception when a wife is below that age.
The couple approached the High Court to seek the quashing of a criminal FIR, arguing that they had married voluntarily with family consent and that the marriage was fully valid under Muslim personal law.
