LHC rules marriage is valid if person is past puberty, even below legal age

Court dismisses father’s plea to recover 15-year-old daughter who married by her own choice

The Lahore High Court has ruled that under Islamic law, a marriage contracted after attaining puberty is valid, even if the individual is below the age set in the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. In Punjab, the minimum marriage age is 18 for males and 16 for females.

Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa delivered the ruling while dismissing a petition filed by a father seeking to recover his 15-year-old daughter. The father claimed his daughter, aged 15 years and 8 months, was in the illegal custody of Mudassar Ali and his family.

Earlier, the police reported they could not recover her, but she was produced before the court during the latest hearing. The girl told the court that she was not being detained, had reached puberty, and had married Ali by her own choice. She also said she wanted to live with her husband.

The court noted that no evidence challenged her claim of puberty. The father’s lawyer argued that under Section 2(a) of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, a female under 16 is legally a child.

However, the court examined the history of the law, noting it was enacted during British rule to restrict child marriages but did not make such marriages void. Later amendments raising the legal age also did not invalidate marriages below that age.

Citing the Federal Shariat Court’s 2022 ruling in Farooq Omar Bhoja vs. Federation of Pakistan, the LHC observed that while the state can set a minimum marriage age, marriages below that threshold are not automatically void.

Under Islamic law, the court explained, two conditions govern marriage: sound mind and attainment of puberty. Puberty is a biological milestone that can be proven with evidence but is generally presumed at age 15. Earlier attainment is also recognised.

Referring to DF Mulla’s Principles of Mohammedan Law, the court said that since the girl was 15 years and 8 months and confirmed her maturity, she was legally competent to marry.

The court concluded that Islamic scholars recognise puberty as the transition from childhood to adulthood. Based on this, the petition was dismissed, and the girl’s wish to remain with her husband was upheld.