Supreme Court Today (June 18) stepped in to protect a 16-year-old girl from Bihar who was forced to marry a 33-year-old man. The court has asked Bihar Police to give full protection to her and her friend who helped her escape.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India today sent a notice to the Bihar government after a 16-year-old girl filed a petition saying she is facing life threats for not agreeing to stay in a forced marriage with a 33-year-old man.
The girl said in the petition that her marriage happened without her will and under pressure from her parents.
A bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan and Justice Manmohan heard the matter. They ordered Bihar Police to give complete protection to the girl and her friend, who is now facing a police case for allegedly kidnapping her. This friend had helped her run away and go into hiding.
The top court also said that it wants a full report in a sealed cover by next week.
The girl, who belongs to Bihar, requested the court to cancel her marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which is meant to stop child marriages and help protect victims.
In the petition, the girl shared that her parents forced her into marrying a civil contractor who is about 32 or 33 years old. This happened on December 9. Just after the marriage, she was sent to live with her in-laws.
She said her parents knew her Class 10 board exams were coming soon, but still forced her to stay in the marriage.
“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 petition said.
“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,”
-it added.
She also said in the petition that her husband used to beat her badly every day.
“She remained under severe stress till the second week of January, when her maternal uncle persuaded the in-laws to allow her to return to her parental home for board examination. Despite all odds, she was able to clear the matriculation examination,”
-it said.
After the exam, her in-laws and family kept putting pressure on her to return to her husband’s house. At this point, she asked her friend for help. After thinking about it for some time, he agreed.
On March 31, the girl ran away with the help of her friend. They first went to Varanasi.
“They have since been on the run after their location was traced,”
-the plea said.
But the girl’s family filed a police case, claiming she was kidnapped. They also added the names of her friend, his father, mother, and maternal uncle in the case.
“The Petitioner seeks indulgence of this Hon’ble Court as the family members of her friend are being tortured and threatened to ensure that he abandons me, fearing safety of his parents and family members,”
-the plea said.
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“The father of the petitioner has already been arrested merely on the basis of the allegation in the FIR which is false. The arrest is only to ensure that my friend betrays me and hands me back to my family and in-laws,”
-the plea added.
The girl also said that her husband has been openly threatening to kill her.
“He would not mind going to jail after killing her,”
-she quoted her husband saying.
“The state machinery has failed to take appropriate action and come to the rescue of the Petitioner in terms of the mandate of The Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006,”
-the plea said.
The girl was represented in the Supreme Court by advocate Abhishek Rai.
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