Supreme Court Issues Notice to Bihar and Delhi Governments Over Minor Girl's Plea Against Forced Child Marriage

A 16-year-old girl from Bihar petitioned the Supreme Court, via her best friend, to have her forced marriage annulled under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006. The teenage girl, who recently gave her Class 10 Board examinations, had filed an appeal with the highest court to shield herself from her husband and family. The Supreme Court has sent notice to the governments of Delhi and Bihar about a 16-year-old girl's appeal against child marriage. The girl claimed that her in-laws had abused her. She also stated that she wanted to study ahead after passing class 10. The court ordered status reports from both the state police and ordered them to guarantee protection. The court will hear the case next on July 15.

#BREAKING: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Bihar and Delhi governments over a 16-year-old girl's plea against forced child marriage. The girl alleged abuse by her in-laws and sought to continue her education. The Court directed both state police to ensure the couple’s… pic.twitter.com/iequdUasoB

— IANS (@ians_india) June 18, 2025

Her friend Saurabh Kumar has filed the petition on her behalf. An FIR has been filed against Saurabh Kumar for kidnapping the teenage girl. However, the teenage girl insists that Kumar assisted her in leaving her violent marriage. The girl is said to be in danger because she is protesting against staying in an abusive child marriage. She was forced to get married.

According to the plea, her husband has been personally investigating the case and has stated to the residents of Madhopur village that he was open to being imprisoned after killing her.

The plea reads, “The Petitioner is presently on the run with a friend (Saurabh Kumar) and fears they would be killed if they returned back to Bihar or were apprehended in the hunt launched for them.”

On December 9, 2024, the minor girl was forced to get married to a 32-year-old man by her parents. She claims that despite the fact that her Class X board examination was nearing, she was given a send-off right after the marriage ceremony and was told that she would be permitted to return two days later. But her in-laws, who allegedly gave and spent a lot of money on the marriage and kept telling her that they wanted a child, forbade her from going back to her parents' house, the plea said.

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According to the plea, her husband, a civil contractor, also asserted that the petitioner's parents owed them money, and that she would have to stay in the marriage rather than follow her dream of becoming a teacher or lawyer. The plea also mentioned that he used to beat the petitioner every day for rebuffing his attempts at a sexual relationship.

According to the plea, she endured mental and physical torture and extreme hardship until the second week of January 2025, when her maternal uncle convinced her in-laws to let her go back to her.

She informed her mother that she was being abused at her in-laws' house on March 31, 2025, and after much convincing, her friend Saurabh Kumar consented to help. She requested Saurabh Kumar to accompany her to Varanasi, and since their location was traced, they ran from there.

As per the plea, the petitioner’s mother, Pammi Devi, lodged an FIR in April 2025, before the Piplawa Naubatpur police station in Patna district. In her FIR, she concealed the fact that her daughter was married.