New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- The Delhi High Court has directed a man to face trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for having sexual relations with his minor wife, ruling that personal laws cannot be invoked to claim exemption from criminal liability under penal statutes.

In his judgment of September 23 released on Saturday, September 26, Justice Sanjeev Narula refused to quash a criminal case against a man under Section 64(1) (rape) of the BNS and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.

The police registered an FIR this year when the woman was around eight months pregnant, and her age came to light during a visit to a government hospital.

The couple had approached the High Court ...