ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowed a 15-year-old girl to live with her husband, and recommended steps to strengthen the legal framework around child marriages to protect minors.
A single bench of Justice Muhammad Azam Khan on Wednesday released a 24-page judgment on a plea filed by Muhammad Riaz, challenging a June 23 order by an Islamabad-East district judge that denied the recovery of the girl after her family members allegedly “forcibly” took her away from the man’s house on June 21.
Justice Azam said that in view of the fact that the alleged detenue has attained puberty and appears to have given free and voluntary consent, she shall be at liberty to reside with her husband. He stated that child marriage is not invalid under Shariah law, but it is a criminal offense under statutory law.
According to the order, the birth certificate, which was registered after the marriage, said the girl was aged 15 at the time of solemnisation of her Nikkah on May 30. However, the Nikahnama “vaguely records her age as ‘almost 18 years’”, and the court noted it was not empowered to “conclusively decide the question of age”.
The girl was presented before the court on July 11, when she “unequivocally affirmed that she had contracted marriage with the petitioner of her own choice and expressed her desire to reside with him, explicitly declining to return to her parents,” the order stated.
The bench said that it is noteworthy that even during her stay at the Crisis Centre Islamabad, she has consistently maintained this position.
Justice Azam observed that the trial court “overlooked” that the petitioner’s counsel had highlighted that there was “great apprehension to the life, honour and dignity of the detenue” if she remained in the custody of the respondents.
The judge noted that while a marriage wherein either or both of the parties were under 18 was “not void under the Shariah, it is nonetheless punishable by law and treated as contrary to public policy, especially where it undermines the minor’s physical, emotional, and educational development.”
The order delved into the legal definitions of “child”, “child marriage”, and “child abuse”, and considered various questions, including whether a marriage “valid under the Islamic law/ Shariah can be considered void under the statutory law, particularly in light of the Act of 2025”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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