ISLAMABAD, 24 JULY (DNA) — The Federal Constitutional Court on Friday issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan and the Advocate General Punjab, seeking their legal assistance on a review petition filed in the case of Maria Shahbaz, who embraced Islam and contracted marriage. A two-member bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard the petition.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the court, in its earlier judgment, had upheld the marriage of a minor girl, whereas Maria Shahbaz was underage and had allegedly been induced to convert her religion. Justice Rizvi asked what error existed in the previous judgment. The petitioner’s counsel replied that the legal age for marriage was 18 years and, therefore, a marriage contracted in violation of the law could not be allowed to stand.
Justice Rizvi observed that while the law prescribed punishment for underage marriage, it did not declare such a marriage void. He further remarked that even if a marriage took place when one of the parties was underage, the law had to provide a remedy for such a situation. During the hearing, Justice Rizvi also observed that from the district court up to the Federal Constitutional Court, the girl had never stated at any stage that she had been forced into the marriage or conversion.
He said that since the petitioner was insisting on the legal grounds raised in the review petition, the court would seek assistance from the Attorney General for Pakistan and the Advocate General Punjab. The court subsequently issued notices to both law officers and adjourned further hearing of the case for an indefinite period.
The Federal Constitutional Court had, on March 26, dismissed a petition filed by Maria Shahbaz’s father seeking her custody, holding that any request for annulment of the marriage should be pursued before the competent civil court, as proceedings relating to unlawful detention and custody could not be used to seek annulment of a marriage. — DNA
