ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has issued an important decision regarding the marriage of Christian girls under the age of 18 to Muslim boys.
According to a private TV, the Federal Constitutional Court has issued an important decision on the marriage of Christian girls under the age of 18 to Muslim boys, declaring that Muslim men can marry women of the Book according to Sharia law.
The court said in its decision that underage marriage can be punished under the Child Marriage Act 1929, but the marriage cannot be terminated. The law on underage marriage only mentions criminal punishment. There is no mention of termination of underage marriage in the Child Marriage Act 1929.
During the hearing of the case, the court accepted Maria Bibi’s conversion to Islam and marriage to a boy named Shahryar as valid and said in its decision that Maria converted to Islam before the marriage, of which a declaration is also available. The validity of the girl’s age and Darul Ifta document cannot be reviewed in the application for unjustified detention.
According to the decision, the final forum for constitutional interpretation is not the Supreme Court but the Federal Constitutional Court. All courts, including the Supreme Court, are bound to follow the orders of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court is not bound to implement the principles laid down by the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court is not bound to accept precedents that conflict with the Constitution or the law.
It should be noted that Maria Bibi, a resident of Lahore, converted to Islam and married a boy named Shahryar. Later, Maria’s father filed a kidnapping case in July 2015, which was dismissed. Maria had stated in the court that she had married willingly and was not kidnapped.
Later, Maria’s father filed applications for habeas corpus on the grounds of her minor age, which were dismissed even by the Constitutional Court.
According to the court, the girl’s father had stated in the FIR that her daughter’s age was 13 to 14 years, while in the arguments it was 12 years and 9 months. The court ruled that there was a contradiction in the father’s statements. According to NADRA records, there is less than 8 months difference in age between Maria Bibi and her younger sister. The documents relied upon are not beyond doubt.
The Federal Constitutional Court said that the girl appeared before the magistrate and gave a statement that she had entered into the marriage of her own free will without any pressure.
