Muslim Personal Law Cannot Shield Sexual Intercourse With Minor Wife From POCSO: Delhi HC

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VoM News Desk | September 26, 2026 | 10:20 PM IST | Breaking News, Courts & Law, India | Follow on Google News

Muslim Personal Law Cannot Shield Sexual Intercourse With Minor Wife From POCSO: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held that a marriage recognised under Muslim personal law does not grant immunity from prosecution under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), where the wife was below 18 years of age at the time of sexual intercourse.

Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that personal law cannot override statutory protections afforded to children under the POCSO Act and the BNS.

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The Court held that a marriage claimed to be valid under Muslim personal law cannot, merely by virtue of that status, confer immunity from prosecution for sexual intercourse with a wife who was below 18 years at the relevant time.

“Any other view would create, through judicial decision, an exception which Parliament has expressly excluded,” the Court observed.

The ruling underscores that the statutory protection accorded to minors under the POCSO Act operates irrespective of the personal law under which a marriage is claimed to be valid.

kanoon ki Dastak

VoM News Desk

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