"Want To Study": Girl, 16, Approaches Supreme Court, Seeks To End Her Child Marriage
New Delhi:
A 16-year-old girl from Bihar approached the Supreme Court through her best friend, seeking annulment of her forced marriage under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006.
The teenager who recently appeared for her Class 10 Board exams had appealed the top court to protect her from her family and husband.
The petition has been filed on behalf of her by her friend Saurabh Kumar, who faces an FIR for kidnapping her.
The minor, however, maintains that Kumar helped her flee her abusive marriage.
The girl is said to be facing threat to her life for protesting against continuing in an abusive child marriage solemnised under coercion against her wish.
The plea states that her husband has been pursuing the case personally and has told people in Madhopur village that he would not mind going to jail after killing her.
"The Petitioner is presently on the run with a friend (Saurabh Kumar) and fears they would be killed if they returned back to Bihar or were apprehended in the hunt launched for them," reads her plea.
The plea seeks protection from any coercive action by police till the matter is finally decided by law.
The top court will hear the case on Wednesday.
According to the plea, the parents of the minor girl got her married on December 9, 2024 under coercion with a person aged about 32-33 years.
She was given a send-off immediately after the marriage ceremony even though her Class X board examination was round the corner, she claims, adding that she was assured that she would be allowed to return two days later.
However, she was not allowed to return to her parental home by her in-laws, who claimed to have given and spent a lot of money for the marriage and repeatedly told her that they wanted a baby, the plea added.
The plea further states that her husband, who is a civil contractor, claimed that the petitioner's parents were indebted to them and she would have to continue in the marriage rather than go for further studies to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher or a lawyer.
Her husband, says the plea, used to beat the petitioner on a daily basis for refusing and resisting his attempt at a physical relationship.
She remained under severe stress while being abused mentally and physically till the second week of January 2025 when her maternal uncle persuaded the in-laws to allow her to return to her, the plea states further.
"She told her mother that she was being abused and wanted to study further but to no avail. On March 31, 2025, she left her home and sought help from her friend Saurabh Kumar who agreed to help her after much persuasion. Saurabh Kumar first accompanied her to Varanasi as per her wish and they have since been on the run after their location was traced," the plea states.
According to the plea her mother Pammi Devi lodged an FIR on April , 2025, before the Piplawa Naubatpur police station in Patna district concealing the fact that her daughter was married.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Phone tapping probe: Ex-SIB chief Prabhakar Rao keeps mum on naming top officials, Hyderabad cops may seek SC nod for custodial grilling
T Prabhakar Rao, key accused in the phone tapping case, is not cooperating with the investigation. He is refusing to name involved officials and political leaders. Hyderabad police might seek revocation of his arrest protection. HYDERABAD: Former chief of Special Intelligence Bureau, T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the sensational phone tapping case, has so far stonewalled investigators by refusing to name senior IPS officers or political leaders allegedly involved during the previous BRS regime. Though he hinted that certain actions were carried out in coordination with top officials, Prabhakar Rao has remained tight-lipped on specifics, prompting Hyderabad police to consider seeking revocation of his Supreme Court-granted arrest protection. With Prabhakar Rao allegedly not providing leads crucial to cracking the case, police plan to continue questioning him for a few more days. A final decision will soon be taken on approaching the apex court, which had earlier given him interim relief from arrest. Officials are likely to inform the court of his non-cooperation and request permission to proceed with custodial interrogation. So far, he has been interrogated three times. Other than referring to a letter from the then director general of police recommending his reappointment post-retirement-citing his experience in anti-Maoist operations-he has remained evasive, particularly when asked about the core allegations of surveillance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Поза во сне может многое рассказать о вашем характере! Удивительные Новости Undo He has refused to name the senior officers or political leadership allegedly involved in the phone tapping. Investigators suspect that Prabhakar Rao was instrumental in setting up the now-disbanded special operations team (SOT), headed by then deputy superintendent of police D Praneeth Rao. The unit is believed to have tapped the phones of political opponents, including current chief minister A Revanth Reddy, senior BJP leaders, and dissidents within the BRS to help the ruling party during elections. Meanwhile, after taking the witness statements of different phone tapping victims including Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud, the investigators are going to take the statements of BJP MPs Eatala Rajender and M Raghunandan Rao, Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Congress leader Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy are among those expected to be questioned. CM Revanth and his family members, whose phones were reportedly under surveillance, may also be asked to depose. "Based on the phone numbers identified, police will reach out to those affected and collect detailed accounts of any harassment or damage-financial, legal, or personal-suffered due to the surveillance," sources familiar with the investigation told TOI. "Their statements will help build a watertight case," a source said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Supreme Court warns governments against invoking stringent laws as tool of harassment
Representative Image NEW DELHI: Cautioning govts not to invoke stringent laws like UP Gangsters Act "as an instrument of harassment or intimidation, particularly where political motivations may be at play", Supreme Court has quashed an FIR lodged under the Act against people taking part in a demonstration after a communal flare-up arising out of a controversial social media post targeting a religious group, reports Amit Anand Choudhary. It said the accused were arrested and booked under various provisions of IPC for vandalising a shop owned by a person who had put an "incendiary" social media post. Supreme Court said the accused were arrested and booked under provisions of IPC for vandalising a shop and there was no need for lodging a second FIR against them by invoking Gangsters Act six months after the incident. Noting the stringent law was invoked 13 days after an accused's daughter-in- law filed nomination for chairmanship of Nagar Panchayat Khargupur (UP), a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, "This timing lends credence to their contention the Act may have been weaponised for extraneous considerations. " Allowing the plea of Lal Mohammad and other accused, the bench said the Act was enacted to combat organised gang-based crime and dismantle criminal syndicates, and invoking the law "based on a single incident of communal violence... is a significant departure from its legislative purpose". It said mere involvement of the accused in a demonstration after the communal flare-up, however serious, did not transform the participants into a 'gang' without evidence of organised and continuous criminal activity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What She Did Mid-Air Left Passengers Speechless medalmerit Learn More Undo "The constitutional guarantee of personal liberty acquires even greater significance when extraordinary legislation with stringent provisions, such as UP Gangsters Act, is invoked. While the state has broad discretion in criminal prosecution, this discretion must be exercised judiciously, based on relevant considerations, and in conformity with the statutory purpose. The power conferred upon the state cannot be wielded as an instrument of harassment or intimidation, particularly where political motivations may be at play," said Justice Mehta, who penned the judgment. "It is a cardinal principle of criminal jurisprudence that extraordinary penal provisions, particularly those that substantially abridge regular procedural safeguards, must be invoked based on evidence that meets a threshold of credibility and substantiality. The materials relied upon must establish a reasonable nexus between the accused and the alleged criminal activity, demonstrating actual probability of involvement rather than mere theoretical possibility. When a statute creates serious fetters on personal liberty, the evidentiary foundation for its invocation must be commensurately strong, supported by concrete, verifiable facts rather than vague assertions."
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
In-laws told to provide woman accommodation or pay her rent
New Delhi: Directing the in-laws of a woman to either arrange accommodation for her or pay the rent for her separate stay, a court has observed that an aggrieved person under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act has the right to reside in the shared household even in the absence of actual residence in it. Citing a Supreme Court ruling, the court of additional sessions judge Sharad Gupta said in his June 6 order that a woman couldn't be excluded from the shared household even if she didn't actually reside there. The petitioner, Shalini Chauhan, alleged that after her marriage in 2021 in Faridabad, she was subjected to domestic violence, following which she decided to live separately. The court was hearing her appeal against an order of a magisterial court in Sept 2023, which did not issue directions on the issue of accommodation. Vineet Chauhan, her husband who is absconding, didn't give interim maintenance to her since Jan 2023. The appellant, through her advocate Archana Sharma, said she was facing financial difficulties as her husband had filed a plea claiming he wasn't involved in any violence and not liable to pay maintenance. The judge directed the father and brother of the husband to either permit the woman to reside in the matrimonial home or arrange a separate rented premises and pay Rs 7,000 per month for rent for six months from the date of the order or until the final disposal of the complaint of the appellant under PWDV Act. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo The court observed that there was nothing on record to suggest that the relationship between the husband and his family members was peaceful or that he was colluding with them. "Rather, as per record, the respondent no. 1 has abandoned his parents as well as his wife. Thus, considering that the appellant was living in the matrimonial home prior to the breakdown of relationships, the respondents would have to provide some shelter or rent to the appellant for a reasonable period of time," the judge said.
