A 14-year Muslim girl was ‘arrested’ from her home by Ghatkopar police in December last year, in connection with a supposed violation of Child Marriage Prohibition Act; as her relatives complained to Police that she was underage and should not be married off. Instead of taking suitable action against her guardians or whoever is supposed to be answerable in such a case, the arrest and detention of a young girl, can never be interpreted as anything other than high-handed justice meted out by the police. How can she be confined to a prison like Child Welfare Committee institution against her will and become state ward in the true Dickensian fashion of convoluted justice, where her individual rights are so blatantly violated by the Police and other authorities. The police should know that she will be scarred for all her life and carry the stigma of a prison sentence for no fault of her and in the false pretext of protection of her interest. Is this the best a welfare state can do after 60 years of being liberated from the British standard of colonial justice?
Women’s organisations too forget the plight of individuals that become the unwilling focus of wrangling between authorities and legalities, and keep barking up the wrong trees.
Ghulam Muhammed
Mumbai, Maharashtra