Overview

• A Nagpur bench division bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande declined to use inherent powers to terminate the case against a 29-year-old man and his parents.
• The FIR, lodged on July 1, 2025 at Telhara Police Station, followed information that a 17-year-old delivered a baby on May 10 after a June 2, 2024 marriage conducted as per Muslim rites.
• The court found the girl was under 18 at marriage and at childbirth and said the accused, approximately 27 at the time, should have waited until she reached majority.
• The judges stressed that marriage and the birth of a child do not negate offences and noted that taking a minor from her parents’ lawful custody constitutes an offence.
• The order referenced the Supreme Court’s ongoing review of adolescent relationships under POCSO and the Union Government’s opposition to lowering the age of consent, emphasizing adherence to current law until any legislative change.