September 1, 2026
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court has ruled that a minor girl’s consent cannot legalise a child marriage under Punjab’s new child marriage law, ordering police to register a case against a man who allegedly married a 15-year-old girl in Kasur. The court also ordered that the girl be placed in the custody of the Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CP&WB) until further orders.
Justice Munawar Iqbal Duggal passed the order while allowing a constitutional petition filed by Muhammad Aslam, the girl’s father, against an order of the Additional Sessions Judge and Ex-Officio Justice of Peace, Kasur. Meanwhile the lower court had declined to direct police to register an FIR against the man accused of marrying the girl.
Case details
The girl’s father had initially registered an FIR in May 2026 at Sattokatla Police Station, Lahore, alleging that his daughter had been abducted by unknown persons.
During the investigation, however, the girl, Hina Aslam, appeared before a magistrate and recorded a statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
She told the magistrate that she had not been abducted and had married Muhammad Luqman of her own free will. She also described her father’s FIR as false and raised no objection to its cancellation.
The matter took a different turn when the father later approached the Municipal Committee, Kasur, to verify the nikah nama. The committee informed him that no record of the alleged nikah existed in its office.
He subsequently sought registration of a fresh FIR against Luqman and others, alleging that a child marriage had taken place in violation of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2026, and that the nikah nama was forged.
Police declined to register the case, while the Justice of Peace dismissed his application and suggested that the alleged offences be added to the earlier FIR.
Girl established as minor
The High Court noted that a NADRA-issued Child Registration Certificate recorded Hina Aslam’s date of birth as March 1, 2011. This meant she was approximately 15 years and two months, when the alleged nikah took place on May 18, 2026.
The respondents argued that the girl had represented herself as 19 years old and that the marriage was solemnized on the basis of that representation. They also relied on her Section 164 statement, in which she claimed to be above 18.
The court, however, found that the respondents had failed to produce reliable and contemporaneous documentary evidence to contradict the NADRA record.
“The material placed before the Court gives rise to a reasonable basis for treating the alleged occurrence as falling within the statutory framework of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2026,” the judgment stated.
New law makes consent irrelevant
The court noted that the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2026 came into force on May 11, 2026, just days before the alleged marriage.
Under the new law, the minimum age of marriage is 18 for both males and females. It also criminalises the marriage of an adult with a child. More significantly, Section 5 of the law declares that cohabitation with a child resulting from such a marriage constitutes child abuse, regardless of the child’s consent.
The offence carries a punishment of five to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of at least Rs1 million.
Since the alleged nikah took place on May 18, 2026, the court held that the new law applied to the case.
“The police cannot decline to set the criminal law into motion merely because the alleged child has expressed willingness to reside with the adult contracting party,” the judgment stated.
The court further held that the girl’s consent could not, by itself, determine whether she should live with the adult accused of marrying her or whether she should be placed under protective custody.
The court said her views should be heard and could not simply be disregarded because she was a child. However, where there was a prima facie case of child marriage, her welfare and best interests remained the paramount consideration.
Fresh FIR can be registered
The High Court also rejected the argument that a fresh FIR could not be registered because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mst. Sughran Bibi v. The State. The ruling generally bars registration of a second FIR when it merely presents another version of the same incident. The High Court found that the two complaints in this case involved different transactions.
The first FIR concerned the alleged abduction of the girl by unknown persons, while the later complaint related to the alleged child marriage, the purportedly forged nikahnama and the alleged involvement of identified individuals in facilitating the marriage.
“The latter allegations are not merely a counter-version of the alleged abduction; rather, they relate to an identifiable statutory offence arising from a distinct transaction,” the court held.
The court therefore set aside the order of the Justice of Peace and directed the SHO of Police Station B-Division, Kasur, to proceed under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Police were directed to register and investigate the case if a cognizable offence was disclosed.
Girl sent to child protection bureau
The court also dealt with the girl’s custody. Hina Aslam told the court that she did not want to return to her parental home and feared ill-treatment by her family. The court decided not to hand her over either to her father or to Luqman. Instead, it ordered that she remain in the custody of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau.
The Bureau was directed to ensure her safety, dignity, education, psychological wellbeing and access to counselling. Any meetings between the girl and her parents or Luqman must take place under the Bureau’s supervision. The Bureau was also directed to submit a welfare report to the court after four weeks.
The question of her permanent custody and guardianship was referred to the Guardian Judge, Lahore, for determination under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890.