New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- The Delhi High Court has observed that the recurring conflict between personal laws permitting child marriages and statutory provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) requires urgent legislative clarity, even hinting at the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Justice Arun Monga, while granting bail to Hamid Raza, accused of marrying a girl allegedly below 18 years, remarked that under Islamic law, a girl who has attained puberty may lawfully marry, but such a marriage simultaneously exposes the husband to prosecution under POCSO and BNS.

"Should society be criminalized for adhering to long-standing personal laws? Is it not the time to move towar...