A 40-year-old man was punished for marrying a 15-year-old girl – 2024-03-15 15:50:45

A sessions court in Pakistan has charged a 40-year-old man with the crime of marrying a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to two years in custody under a probation officer for this offence.

According to the court verdict, the accused will stay with his wife in his house. But the probation officer will keep him under surveillance.

Instead of sending the accused to jail, the court said that the accused had committed an offense for the first time and was also the sole breadwinner for his wife and infant daughter.

The judge commented that sending him to prison will not change his life. So it is better to give it to one’s custody.

Moreover, during the trial, the accused admitted his guilt and apologized to the court.

According to the prosecution, the girl’s father filed a case of abduction with the police station in 2022. It is said that the young man named Aslam raped or forcibly abducted his daughter for marriage.

Immediately after this incident, the girl appeared before a judicial magistrate with her husband and said that she voluntarily left home and wanted to have a court marriage with Aslom.

After such a statement of the girl, the court rejected her father’s complaint. Then the father approached the Sindh High Court. The court then ordered an examination to find out the real age of the girl.

The medical certificate shows that the teenager was 15 when she left home. As a result, the court ordered the addition of provisions of the Prevention of Child Marriage Act.

However, during cross-examination, the girl told the court that she was 19 years old at the time of marriage and even denied the abduction alleged by her father. The girl also said that her husband is very caring towards his wife and daughter.

Taking all this into consideration, the court remanded the accused to the custody of a probation officer for correction without sending him to jail.

Source: Don

MSM