'Child not chattel, respect major daughter's marriage': SC rebukes parents

New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Saying "a child is not a chattel", the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea of the parents of a woman for criminal action against her partner on the ground she was a minor when she married.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar said the girl was not a minor at the time of marriage and the FIR was lodged against a person as her parents did not accept the marriage.

“You don’t have the right to imprison … You do not accept the relationship of your major child. You treat your child as a chattel. A child is not a chattel,” the CJI said, "accept the marriage of your child".

The bench referred to the discrepancies in the date of birth certificate submitted by the parents of the woman and said it was not taking the matter further.

“We are not inclined to interfere with the high court order,” it said.

On August 16, a bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court at Indore quashed an FIR against a resident of Mahidpur in a case involving alleged abduction and sexual assault of a minor.

An FIR under various provisions relating to kidnapping and other offences was lodged by the father that his 16-year-old girl was missing.

It was alleged that a man abducted lured and kidnapped his daughter.

The high court quashed the FIR taking into account the fact that the girl was major and she had married consensually .

The top court refused to set aside the high court decision. PTI