India, Sept. 27 -- A marriage claimed to be valid under Muslim personal law cannot shield an adult from criminal prosecution for sexual relations with a wife who was below 18 at the time, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

Justice Sanjeev Narula, in an order dated September 23, refused to quash a criminal case against a man accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The order was made public on Saturday.

The case concerned a couple who said they had married when the girl was 16 years and three months old, while the man was 28. They subsequently lived together and she became pregnant. Her age came to light when she visited a government hospital during her pregnancy, foll...