ANI
31 Jan 2023, 15:48 GMT+10
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday informed the petitioner that on January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court allowed transferring the main proceedings pertaining to uniformity in the minimum age of marriage for men and women in diverse legislations.
The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad after noted the submissions, directed its registry department to transfer the case related documents immediately to the Supreme Court.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday will hear the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to equalise of the legal age of marriage for men and women saying the limit of 18 years for a woman, while it is 21 for a man, amounts to discrimination.
The plea before the Delhi High Court earlier stated that at present, while men in India are permitted to get married at the age of 21, women are allowed to get married when they are 18. It is mentioned that more than 125 countries in the world have a uniform age of marriage.
The litigant / Advocate Ashwini Kunar Upadhyay said the plea is filed in the public interest under Article 226 and it challenges a blatant and ongoing form of discrimination against women.
"The discriminatory 'minimum age' limit for marriage for men and women is based in patriarchal stereotypes, has no scientific backing, perpetrates de jure and de facto inequality against women, and goes completely against the global trends," the plea said. As per the petition, some of the statutory provisions, which are responsible for discriminatory 'minimum age' limit for marriage include -- Section 60(1) of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; Section 3(1)(c) of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936; Section 4(c) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954; Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Section 2(a) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The plea stated that the differential bar discriminates against women and contravenes with the fundamental principles of gender equality, gender justice and dignity of women and breaches Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The petitioner in his petition further stressed that women have a fundamental right to be free to pursue studies or occupations after finishing school at the age of 18.
"It is a social reality that women are expected (and often also pressurised) to beget children immediately after marriage and also forced to take up household chores in accordance with their stereotypical roles in the family. This harms their educational as well as economic pursuits and often impinges on their reproductive autonomy as well," the plea said.
It added that a higher minimum age will ensure "more autonomy to women in every sense". (ANI)Get a daily dose of Kolkata Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kolkata Sun.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
ZAGREB, Croatia: A massive concert by popular Croatian singer Marko Perković, known by his stage name Thompson, has drawn widespread...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Elon Musk's entry into the political arena is drawing pushback from top U.S. officials and investors, as his decision...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump claimed he was unaware that the term shylock is regarded as antisemitic when he used it in...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...
Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 9 (ANI): As Uttar Pradesh launched its state-wide mega plantation drive, Chief Minister Yogi...
Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], July 9 (ANI): Vadodara Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohan Anand on Wednesday said that nine people have...