1. the child marriage restraint act, 1929 makes it illegal for men below 21 and women below 18 to marry.

2. but the muslim personal law applicability act,1937 overrides this as far as muslims are concerned.

3. The special marriages act,1954 would apply to inter religious marriages. the Act also covers divorce. Similarly the Parsis have their own Act. The Jains and Sikhs are covered by the Hindu Act.

4. The Christians upto 2001 were covered by the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 But this was amended in 2001. The Act is more comprehensive.

5. There was also some benefits that were enacted in 2001 which affected all the above acts – Hindu, Christian, Parsi and Interreligious.

rgds/sridhar

1. Is it true that the permissible age for marriage under Muslim Personal Law (as followed in India) is 12?

and

2. Which law is the determining law in case of disputes in inter-religious marriages?

Grateful for any answers.

In this case the person is – 15 years old hindu girl. As per Hindu law she is a minor and therefore she is incapable of taking the decision – whether or not to change the religion.

Therefore, he decision to change her religion lacks competence. Rest follows.

Yes if as per Muslim Personal Law a Muslim Girl at 15 years is free to take a decision about whether she wants to change her religion or whether she wants to get married then we should respect that too.