In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court has ordered legal action against a priest and a secretary of the Arya Sanatan Dharma Seva Committee in Agra for conducting a marriage involving a minor girl. The court also directed the arrest of the young man involved in the marriage, following the presentation of a forged age certificate, and handed him over to the local police station chief.
The incident came to light when the 12-year-old girl and the young man approached the court seeking protection, claiming they were adults and had married of their own free will. They presented an Aadhar card as proof of the girl’s adulthood. However, doubts raised by the government advocate about the Aadhar card’s authenticity led the court to order a thorough investigation of all documents presented.
Justice Vinod Diwakar presided over the case where the girl’s father was also directed to appear before the court with a valid age certificate. Upon investigation, the Saifai SHO confirmed that the girl was born on September 8, 2011, making her approximately 12 years old. Her father corroborated this information in a sworn affidavit.
Observing the evidence, the court declared the marriage in violation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, noting that such an arrangement could adversely affect the girl’s health, both physically and mentally, as she was not of marriageable age. Furthermore, the court ordered the minor to be placed under the care of the Child Welfare Committee of Etawah and directed the SSP of Etawah to personally monitor the case.
