The Supreme Court gave its verdict on child marriage on Friday (October 18). A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra said awareness is needed to prevent child marriage, mere provision of punishment will do nothing.
CJI said, We have seen and understood the purpose of Prevention of Child Marriage Act (PCMA). There is a provision to punish without any damages, which has proved to be ineffective. We need an awareness campaign.
The Supreme Court reserved the decision after hearing on July 10. The petition was filed in 2017 by the Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action. The NGO alleged that the letter of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was not being implemented.
What happened in the last hearing…
- The Supreme Court questioned specific programs like awareness campaigns and training, saying that these programs and lectures do not actually change things at the ground level. We are not here to criticize anyone. This is a social issue. What is the government doing about this?
- Explaining the current situation to the bench, the Additional Solicitor General said that states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Assam have seen more cases of child marriage. Apart from Assam, no such incident has taken place in the northeastern states.
- A law official said 29 out of 34 states and union territories have provided data on child marriage. The situation has improved a lot in the last three years. He also said that there was no data available on convictions in child marriage cases. However, compared to 2005-06, child marriage cases have reduced by 50%.
Assam implemented several decisions against child marriage, reducing such cases by 81%
In July 2024, the Assam Government Cabinet approved a bill to introduce a compulsory registration law replacing the Assam Muslim Nikah and Divorce Registration Act, 1935. Under the 1935 Act, early marriage was allowed under special conditions.
The India Child Protection Report released in July praised the Assam government's efforts to curb child marriage. The report said that the cases of child marriage in Assam have been reduced through legal action. Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, child marriage cases have reduced by 81% in 20 districts of the state.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
