The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking uniform age of marriage for men and women. While dismissing the petition Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said striking down of provision will result in there being no age for marriage for women.
“Petitioner seeks a legislative amendment. This court cannot issue a mandamus for parliament to legislate,” he observed.
The petition was listed before a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala.
“There are some matters which are reserved for the parliament. We must defer to the parliament. We can’t enact law here. We should not perceive that we’re the exclusive custodian of the constitution. Parliament is also a custodian,” Chandrachud said, according to LiveLaw.
Upadhyay argued that the distinction between the age of marriage for men and women was arbitrary and violated Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution.
Known for his hardline Hindutva petitions, Upadhyay said that if the current law is struck down then the age will automatically become 21 years for everyone under section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
In 2021, the Union government introduced a bill in Parliament to raise the age of marriage for women to 21 years. The bill is referred to a Parliamentary standing committee and is pending on the date.
