The medical board constituted on the directives of the Sindh High Court in Arzoo Masih's case determined the girl's age to be around 14 to 15 years.
Hearing the case on Monday, a two-member bench headed by Justice KK Agha directed the police to send Arzoo - a Christian girl allegedly abducted and forced to convert and marry a Muslim man - back to a shelter home after receiving the medical board's report.
Women police officials produced Arzoo before the bench, which asked the girl if she was under any pressure. The teenager replied that she had married the accused Syed Ali Azhar, 44, and embraced Islam willingly.
According to the report submitted by the five-member medical board, three X-rays of Arzoo were taken from different angles and after reviewing the medical reports, her age was determined to be between 14 to 15 years.
The bench observed that Arzoo could not consent to marriage as the medical board and National Database and Registration Authority records, according to which she is 13 years old, both deemed her underage.
The court further noted that this being the case, it was not possible for her to enter into a legally valid marriage with Azhar and thus she could not return to him.
During the hearing, Azhar's lawyer, who had earlier claimed Arzoo was 18 years old, argued that even if she was under 18, the marriage is legitimate according to Shariah. He contended that the girl was physically and mentally mature and maintained that marriage was permissible in Islam after a person reaches adolescence.
"The medical board's report has not disputed that Arzoo has hit puberty," he said, arguing that Shariah law should be applied if the law of the country contradicts Islamic laws.
The bench directed the case's investigation officer to record the girl's statement within three days and proceed with the investigation under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013.
It further asked Arzoo whether she wished to go with her parents or back to Darul Aman. When Arzoo said she did not want to go to either, the court stated it had no option but to send her to the shelter home, which would ensure her welfare and safety.
The court also directed that only persons whom Arzoo wished to meet be permitted to visit her, adding that she would not be permitted to meet her alleged husband.
The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, which came into effect in 2014, increased the minimum age of marriage in the province to 18 years, with marrying an underage child or aiding the marriage of an underage child being deemed criminal offences.
During the hearing, another lawyer submitted a power of attorney on Arzoo's behalf but the court denied him, stating that there was already a lawyer - the defence counsel - representing Arzoo.
The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks, with the question of Arzoo's conversion yet to be decided.
The medical board was formed on Friday by the Sindh Health Department and Arzoo was presented before its members at the Sindh Services Hospital on Saturday.
'Stuck in IIOJK'
Separately, hearing a plea seeking the return of 350 Pakistani women who were reportedly stuck in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) after their marriages, the high court sought a progress report and granted the assistant attorney-general a two-week extension for its submission.
According to the petitioner, hundreds of Pakistani women were married to IIOJK citizens and were facing difficulties after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status. The petitioner claimed these women and their families approached him for legal assistance.
The assistant attorney-general told the court that some of the women who shifted to IIOJK after marriage had been brought back by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had received a list of other such women, and efforts were underway to bring them all back.
He sought a two-week extension from the court to submit the progress report, which the court accepted.
Bail granted
Separately, the court accepted the bail pleas of former local government secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh, Lala Fazal and Waseem against the surety of Rs500,000 each in a case pertaining to illegal allotment of land.
The court directed that the three accused, whose bails were earlier cancelled by the SHC, be released from prison.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2020.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ