The Bombay High Court recently rejected the plea of a man seeking custody of his “wife”, who was detained and later handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) as her bone ossification test established that she was minor. The petitioner had claimed that he had married the girl based on her birth date in the school leaving certificate, among other documents produced by him, which suggested she was born in 2002.
However, the Court, while dismissing the man’s plea, observed that as the girl’s father had produced her birth certificate, which proved that she was born in 2004 and the ossification test also suggested that she was 17-18 years of age, she was a minor.
A division bench of Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Anil S Kilor was hearing a habeas corpus (produce person before court) plea of the man who was employed in Cooper Hospital as ward boy for many years. The girl was working as a Coolie in the same department. The man and the girl became close friends and decided to get married on May 17, last year. The girl’s mother had registered a complaint before Tulinj Police station in Palghar district of kidnapping against the petitioner. The girl’s custody was subsequently taken by the CWC, Palghar. Repeated enquiries by petitioner to CWC did not avail satisfactory responses, prompting him to approach HC with a plea seeking to produce the girl before the court.
Advocates Hare Krishna Mishra and Sanjay Singh argued that the petitioner had got married with the woman who had attained majority and detaining her in CWC custody was “clearly unsustainable and untenable”.
After hearing submissions, the bench held that the girl can be “safely stated to be a minor person” and that it could not accept the petitioner’s submission that her detention by CWC, Palghar was illegal. It noted that though School Leaving Certificate was to be given priority and relied upon for ascertaining the girl’s age over birth certificate, as the ossification test concluded she was minor, “CWC’s report was deemed to be giving true age of the person as per The Juvenile Justice (Case and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. “There cannot be any dispute that a major person is at his will and liberty to marry with a person of his choice, but in the present matter, the girl is proved minor as per respondent CWC’s report. The petition, thus, being devoid of merit, deserves to be dismissed,” it held.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/ossification-test-conclusive-to-ascertain-age-if-contrary-documents-produced-bombay-hc-7738563/
