CHENNAI: The love marriage between a minor girl and a major boy cannot be declared invalid, if the minor girl decides to live with her husband and the decision is based on her wisdom, the Madras High Court has ruled.The marriage was voidable and the same should be subsisting, until it was annulled by a competent court under Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the court said. “The said marriage is a not a valid marriage, but it is not invalid,’’ a full bench comprising Justices KN Basha, T Sudanthiram and S Nagamuthu said on Monday.“A minor girl whose marriage has been contracted in violation of Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, is not an offender either under Section 9 of the Act or under Section 18 of the Hindu Marriage Act and so she is not a juvenile in conflict with law,’’ the bench said in its significant judgment that could have far-reaching consequences. The bench also held that even if the minor girl expressed her desire to go with her husband, the husband would not be entitled to her custody.While studying in a school in Tiruvallur district, 17-year-old Vanaja (name changed) fell in love with Anbu, and eloped with him and married him in July this year. Her father moved the Madras High Court with a habeas corpus petition (HCP) for a direction to the police to produce his daughter in the court and restore her custody to him. When the matter came up before a division bench, the minor girl asserted that she would live only with her husband.
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