CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

Child is a person who has not completed 21 years of age, if a male, and if a female, has
not completed 18 years of age. Marriage is the legally or formally recognized union of two
people as partners in a personal relationship. Child marriage is defined as a marriage of a girl or
boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which
children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married. Child marriage was defined by The
Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1929. Child marriage affects both girls and boys, but it affects
more to the girls, especially in South Asia. Most child marriages involve many of whom are in
poor socio-economic conditions. Child marriages are prevalent in India . The International
Center for Research on Women –UNICEF publications have estimated India’s child marriage to
be 47% from a sample surveys of 1998, while the United Nations reports it to be 30% in 2005.
Jharkhand is the state with the highest child marriage rates have increased in recent years.
Jammu Kashmir was reported to be the only state with lowest child marriage cases at 0.4% in
2009. Rural rates of child marriages were three times higher than urban India rates in 2009.

Child marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk of violence
exploitation , and abuse. India has the largest number of brides in the world; one-third of the
global total. Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in Asia (the fourth highest rate in
the world). Nepal has also one of the highest rates of child marriage in Asia for both boys and
girls.

The number of child marriage cases registered was the highest in Karnataka at 184,
followed by Assam at 138, West Bengal at 98, Tamil Nadu at 77 and Telengana at 62. About
50% rise in the cases of child marriages has been recorded in 2020 over the previous year,
according to the recent NCRB data, with experts saying it does not only mean there has been an
increase in these instances but that there also has been in reporting. Over 50% of Indian women
are married off as children in northern states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan . At the
other end of the spectrum , There are states such as Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur,
and Jammu and Kashmir, where less than 20 percent of women are married before the age of 18

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years. There are reasons to believe that, even within states, there are significant variations in the
prevalence of child marriage.

According to DLHS data, around 48% of married women in the 20-24 year age group got
married before 18 in rural areas, compared with 29% in urban areas. Over the past 15years ,
Child marriage has declined to 15%. The pandemic has seen a spurt in child and early marriages
in India. The worsening of poverty during the pandemic may well have led to a worrying spurt in
marriages of girl children in India. The pandemic has affected the young indirectly and it is
these indirect consequences that pose a severe threat to the future of the generation , especially
for the most vulnerable among them. The consequences are evident in most spheres of their
lives, and are even more severe for girls and young women than for boys and young men. Many
young people have been left out of the shift to online education because of limited connectivity
and access to devices. Girls have fared far worse than boys. Post Covid-19 unemployment rates
are higher among the young than older populations, and among women than men. Also
documented are increased experience of violence, increased symptoms of mental-ill health and
limited access to health services including those that young are most in need of ; menstrual
health supplies, contraceptives, pregnancy-related and other reproductive care, and mental health
counseling.

Perhaps the least documented consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns in
India is a spurt in child and early marriage.

In a phone survey of adolescents in four states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha), 8%
of adolescents reported familiarity with at least one incident of child marriage in their
neighbourhood after the lockdown was imposed, and 2–3% reported that plans for their marriage
had been initiated, and their chances of getting married early were worsen by the pandemic,
more girls than boys so reported (Centre for bring Change 2021). In a study of youth (66%
female, 71% aged below 18) in Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, conducted in May 2020
(one month following the imposition of the national lockdown), while just 3% overall reported
that their families were pressuring them to discontinue schooling in order to marry, this
percentage was as high as 10% in Uttar Pradesh. Undoubtedly these percentages would be higher
if only girls were considered (Population Foundation of India 2020).

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Child marriage is a widespread violation of human rights. It is an impediment to social and

economic development, and it is rooted in gender inequality. The low value placed on girls and
women perpetuates the act and acceptability of child marriage in societies where the practice is
common. Child marriage is defined as any legal or customary union involving a boy or girl
below the age of 18. This definition draws from various conventions, treaties, and international
agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination
of All forms of Discrimination against Women, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
recent resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council. While boys sometimes marry young, this
paper addresses the practice primarily as it affects girls who make up the large majority of
children who are married under 18. If current trends continue, more than 140 million girls will
marry early in the next decade or nearly 40,000 per day (UNICEF 2014a).

The poorest countries have the highest child marriage rates, and child marriage is most common
among the poor who have fewer resources and opportunities to invest in alternative options for
girls. Social norms around girls' education and women's participation in the formal labor force
may mean that girls are not prioritized in a household's education investment decisions. In other
contexts, parents may assess the costs and benefits of marriage and decide to marry their
daughters early if they are seen as an economic burden that can be relieved through marriage.
Less is known about contexts in which girls themselves make the decision to marry.

Financial transactions around marriage contribute to the practice. In contexts where bride wealth
or bride price is practiced (i.e. a groom or groom's family provides advantage to the bride's
family in exchange for marriage), families may obtain immediate economic benefits from
marrying their daughters. In such cases, families may obtain a greater financial amount the
younger the bride is. In circumstances where dowry is practiced (the bride's family provides
assets to the groom's family), a younger and less educated bride may require a lower dowry,
which would encourage parents to marry daughters at a younger age. When parents marry off
their daughter, there are often economic and social reasons for them to make that choice.
However, the short-term economic reasons that influence parental choice do not serve the long-

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Interventions are most powerful when they: empower girls with information, skills, and support
networks; enhance the accessibility and quality of formal schooling for girls; and offer economic
support and incentives for girls and their families to keep girls in school or marry later.
Importantly, educating and awakening parents and community members in opposition to the
practice is also a key intervention with proven success. Indeed, reframing the idea of girls'
transition to adulthood without marriage requires a dialogue with religious and community
leaders who have a great deal of influence on those issues term interests of girls.

According to Saraswat (2006) Child Marriages exist in feudal societies where the Nagnika
concept was prevalent . Parents were made to believe that if they did not get their daughters
married off before puberty, they would go to hell. Indian traditional places a high premium on
virginity before marriage. This applies to women and to some extent men too. In a culture where
premarital chatstity is valued , one of the easiest ways of achieving this is to get the young girls
married in their childhood. A number of social,health and economic disadvantages are associated
with early marriage. While existing data do not draw conclusions regarding whether early
marriage alone causes these adverse outcomes,it is likely that the links between early marriage,
poverty, low educational attainment and other variable in diverse settings have frequent
unprotected sexual relationships.

According to Miller and Lester (2003), Marriage dramatically increases the likelihood and
pressures of childbearing. The first –time mothers below the age of 16, in addition to the normal
risks and responsibilities of childbearing, face an increased risk of maternal and infant morality.

Married girls typically have low levels of educational attainment, limited or even absent peer
networks, restricted mobility and less access to mass media such as T.V., Radio and Newspapers
as compared to boys or unmarried girls.

In India, the age of marriage of girls has shown a marginal increase over the years. Nevertheless
it continues to be much lower than the legal age and still a large number of girls continue to be
married at very young ages.

The problems include soaring birth rates, grinding poverty and malnutrition, high illiteracy and
infant mortality, and low life expectation, especially among rural women Burns.

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Child marriage covers a myriad of social situations. There are betrothals of tiny boys and girls,
some of them asleep, unaware of what is happening. Then two families may promise to arrange
the marriage of their yet unborn children in case they happen to be of different sexes. Then,
there are marriages of teenagers who consummate their relations a couple of years later, in
comparison to those marriages which are consummated almost a decade and a have later.

Relevant books in the field of child marriage-

CHILD MARRIAGE IN AN INTERNATIONAL FRAME (A FEMINIST REVIEW

FROM INDIA);BY MARY E. JOHN: Child marriage has been given a pre-eminent place in
agendas addressing “harmful practices” as defined by the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals. India leads the world in the number of women who marry below the age of
18 and is therefore of unique interest to international and national forums.

Refusing simplistic labels like “harmful practice”, this book explores the complex history of
child marriage as a social and feminist issue in India across different domains. It critically
reviews a wide range of historical, demographic, and legal scholarship on the subject. Major
concepts relevant to child marriage – such as childhood, adolescence, the girl, and marriage − are
analysed in a comparative framework that uncovers the unnoticed presence of the practice in the
USA and China. The volume questions existing approaches, analyses the latest data sources, and
develops a new concept of compulsory marriage.

>ENDING CHILD MARRRIAGE ,CHILD MARRIAGE LAWS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS;

QUENTIN WODON, PAULA TAVARES, OLIVER FIALA, ALEXIS LE NESTOUR, AND
LISA WISE: Child marriage is defined as a formal or informal union before the age of 18. The
practice affects mostly girls. While child marriage is especially prevalent in low and lower-
middle income countries, it is also observed in other countries. It endangers the life trajectories
of girls in multiple ways. Child brides are at greater risk of experiencing a range of poor health
outcomes, having children at younger ages when they are not yet ready to do so, dropping out of
school, earning less over their lifetimes and living in poverty compared to their peers who marry
at later ages. Child brides may also be more likely to experience intimate partner violence, have
restricted physical mobility, and limited decisionmaking ability. Most fundamentally, child
brides may be disempowered in ways that deprive them of their basic rights to health, education
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and safety. These dynamics affect not only the girls themselves, but also their children and
households, as well as communities and entire societies

Educational Attainment

When girls are married early, their educational trajectory is altered. Formal schooling and
education often cease, which means they stop acquiring knowledge and skills that would carry
them through life, including as productive members of their households and communities. They
are also removed from the social network and support structure that schools provide. The earlier
a girl marries, the more likely it is that she will have a low level of schooling. Field and Ambrus
(2008) and Nguyen and Wodon (2015a) suggest that each year of early marriage below the age
of 18 can lead to a decrease of 4–6 percentage points in the probability of secondary school
completion for girls, with, in some cases, an impact of the number of years of early marriage on
literacy as well. Data from parental or teacher responses in household surveys on the reasons
why girls drop out of school also suggest that child marriage has important negative effects on
education attainment.

The economic impacts of girls' reduced educational attainment can be measured in terms of
reduced earnings and productivity. Depriving a girl of the opportunity to learn limits her
prospects for employment and her ability to gain useful skillsor vocational training
(UNESCO 2012) for the formal labor sector, naturally impacting her lifelong earning potential.
But in addition, potential shifts in household consumption away from economically beneficial
investments tend to be observed with lower levels of education. Not only does lack of education
attainment deprive individual girls of voice and agency and decrease their learning and earning
potential in the long term, but lack of formal education also has intergenerational effects—
impacting her children's education attainment, nutritional status, and physical health.

For many girls, school is not only a source of formal and informal education, but also a space for
them to develop social skills and networks and build support systems, which allows them to be
mobile and engaged in community affairs and activities. Girls who are married early are often
removed from these supportive social networks and isolated in the marital home
(UNICEF 2014b). In addition, withdrawing from school lessens girls' ability to engage in
community and national-level discussions and debates, or engage in the political processes.

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Lack of education also makes it more difficult for girls to access information on health and
welfare for themselves or their children. Girls' education is linked to increased health knowledge
and increased use of household resources to promote the education and health of their children.
Mothers with more education spend more family resources on child nutrition. Children of less
well-educated mothers are less likely to

be well nourished and immunized against childhood diseases, and more likely to die. Girls whose
mothers have had no education are more likely to be married early, contributing to the cycle of
poverty in subsequent generations.

Labor Force Participation

Child marriage may influence female labor force participation in a number of ways, including
through a reduction in expected returns from participation in paid employment due to lower
educational attainment and an increase in the relative value of unpaid household work stemming
from higher lifetime fertility. A lack of engagement in the labor force may have long-term
implications not only for women and their families, but in addition at the aggregate level it may
significantly reduce economic growth in communities or societies. 

As discussed in the previous section, early marriage limits young women's access to education,
which in turn affects employment opportunities and the nature and terms of their employment.
Low education is a barrier to entry into formal, paid employment. Secondary and post-secondary
education are strongly associated with labor force participation & but most girls who marry early
do not reach that level. Young married girls whose schooling is cut short also lack the knowledge
base and the marketable skills needed for formal work, and are confined to informal or home-
based type work, typically characterized by inferior working conditions and lower (or
nonexistent) incomes.

Child marriage may also reduce labor force participation by significantly increasing the barriers
to employment posed by fertility and women's reproductive roles, both of which are closely
linked to age at first marriage. As will be discussed further below, early marriage is associated
with early childbearing, short birth spacing, and higher number of children. Large family size
and women's roles as primary caregivers for their children emerge as having negative effects on
labor force participation decisions, particularly where there are no or limited childcare options.
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Because these barriers are particularly felt during the early stages of marriage and family
formation, child marriage has the effect of delaying potential entry into the labor force, stunting
the potential professional growth and further reducing competiveness in the marketplace.
Furthermore, the traditional gender norms that typically accompany child marriage, coupled with
relatively low returns to participation in the formal workforce, lower the opportunity cost of not
working for women and their households, further reducing the likelihood of participation.

Also related to fertility, a less explored potential impact of child marriage on labor force
participation is through the adverse health impacts of early and frequent pregnancies. Early and
frequent childbearing are associated with greater risk of complications and misery. Women who
survive severe complications while giving birth often require lengthy recovery times and along
with long-term physical, psychological, social consequences, can also experience economic
consequences, including withdrawal from the labor force.

Decreased levels of labor force participation have significant effects beyond the individual.
Lower participation in paid employment may increase household poverty, increase vulnerability
to economic shocks, lower income diversity, and encourage short-term allocation decisions at the
expense of longer-term investments in human and physical capital. At the more aggregate level,
this may lead to lower levels of physical well-being, reduced investment, and lower productivity,
all of which influence economic growth. These factors, in turn, may have significant
intergenerational impacts, leading to poorer health among children and lower levels of
investment in education and other forms of human capital accumulation, as well as a reduced
ability to address shocks such as illness, all of which increase the likelihood of early marriage in
subsequent generations.

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Objectives- Child Marriage in India is a matter of serious concern. Child Marriage denies a child
the basic right to good health, nutrition and education. It is widely acknowledged that early
marriage makes girls more vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation. For both girls and
boys, marriage has a strong physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional impact, cutting
off educational opportunities and chances of personal growth. While boys are also affected by

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child marriage, this is an issue that impacts upon girls in far larger numbers and with more
intensity, so much so that nearly half of women age 18-29 (46 %) and more than one-quarter of
men age 21-29 (27 %) are estimated to have married before reaching the legal minimum age at
marriage (NFHS III). It is believed that the main reasons for early marriage are cultural factors,
social practices and economic pressures interacting with poverty and inequality. Thus, the issue
of child marriage is steeped in several multi-dimensional social, economic, cultural and
community related aspects. Legislation forbidding child marriage in pre-independent India was
put in place in 1929. The child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 primarily focused on restraining the
observance of child marriages.

 The Scheme aims at empowering adolescent girls (11-18 years) by improving their nutritional
and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills
etc. and building awareness on various issues. They would also be sensitized towards the
importance marriage at the right age. By empowering adolescent girls, who can say no to early
marriage, the Scheme would also address the issues of child marriage.

The main aims of Child Marriage Act is to promote marital and family harmony . To actively
work for creating a dowry free society without adversely effecting the institution of marriage,
family structure and implication of innocents and to provide a platform for fighting against
misuse of dowry laws. To create awareness about current dowry/cruelty/harassment related laws
and their detrimental effects on family members including husband, wife, their children and
relatives.

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CHAPTER-2

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Child marriage has been the subject of thousands of debates and controversies worldwide
where those favouring child marriages have fought both verbally and violently against those not
favouring this act. Both young boys and girls have been subjected to child marriages over the
years. Throughout history till the 20th century, child marriages were the norm in most parts of
the world. With the average life expectancy during such times being only 40 to 45 years of age,
child marriages were the faster way to reproduce. Girls were usually married off as soon as they
reached puberty or sometimes even prior to that. In the 20th century, however, as countries
started developing, women started receiving education, voting and other rights and entered the
workforce, their economic conditions improved, and there were massive improvements in
average life expectancy due to advanced medical practices, the practice of child marriages began
to be questioned. Soon, this practice nearly disappeared in the developed economies of the
world. In many other countries of the world, however, child marriages continue to be practiced in
spite of global protests and resistance against this act.

In the earliest known history of India from 200 BC to 700 AD, young women and men
rejoiced a liberal concept of love and they had the freedom to choose a partner and enter into
romantic relationships with each other without any fear of scandal. However, from Middle Age,
as states and government developed, the political system elaborated and modified the Indian
society gradually. It transformed the lifestyle and opinion of its people from a simple to more
complex form, restricting significantly the notion of liberty. Women lost their rights and had to
obey rules and respect the code be behaviour. They were now subject to family discipline and the
honour of their clan. Since young women were considered irresponsible and irrational in love,
parents married them early before they got caught into any scandal. Though, age at which the girl
was to be married differed and it was rare for girls younger than 12 to be married in antiquity.
Nevertheless, girl brides became younger towards the primitive period, and it became
increasingly common for girls as young as six or eight to be married as Indian society. The prime
concern of negotiating the marriage was to find out the compatibility between the two families. It

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was believed during those times that if two persons know each other right from childhood it
enhanced understanding and affection. Hence, parents decided on the marriages of their children
at a very early age although the daughter stayed with her parents until she attained the age of
puberty.

Religious norms and laws

In the Vedas marriage is shown to be between two adult persons after

the Brahmacharya stage.The Vedas, specifically the Rigveda and Atharvaveda , have verses that
clearly indicate that during the Vedic Period, girls married well after attaining puberty and were
of a mature age.The early Dharmasastra also state that girls should be married after they have
attained puberty while some texts extend the marriageable age to before puberty.In
the Manusmriti, which was not implemented as law,a father is considered to have wronged his
daughter if he fails to marry her before puberty and if the girl is not married in less than three
years after reaching puberty, she can search for the husband herself.

There is no minimum marriage age defined in traditional Islamic law, and the legal discussion of
this topic centered primarily on women's physical maturity. Classical Sunni jurisprudenceallows
a father to contract a marriage for his underaged daughter. Appropriate age for consummating
the marriage, which could occur several years after signing the marriage contract, was to be
determined by the bride, groom and the bride's guardian, since medieval jurists held that the age
of fitness for intercourse was too variable for legislation. This was based in part on the precedent
set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as described in the hadith collections considered to be
authentic by Muslims. According to these sources, Muhammad married Aisha, his third wife,
when she was about six,and consummated the marriage when she was about nine.Some modern
Muslim authors and Islamic scholars, such as Ali Gomaa, who served as the Grand Mufti of
Egypt, doubt the traditionally accepted narrative and believe based on other evidence that Aisha
was in her late teens at the time of her marriage.As a general rule, intercourse was prohibited for
girls "not able to undergo it", on the grounds of potential physical harm. Disputes regarding
physical maturity between the involved parties were to be resolved by a judge, potentially after
examination by a female expert witness. 

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Dowry and bride price

Providing a girl with a dowry at her marriage is an ancient practice which continues in some
parts of the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent. This requires parents to give property
on the marriage of a daughter, which is often an economic challenge for many families. The
difficulty to save and preserve wealth for dowry was common, particularly in times of economic
hardship, or persecution, or unpredictable seizure of property and savings. These difficulties
pressed families to betroth their girls, irrespective of her age, as soon as they had the resources to
pay the dowry. Thus, Goitein notes that European Jews would marry their girls early, once they
had collected the expected amount of dowry. A bride price is the amount paid by the groom to
the parents of a bride for them to consent to him marrying their daughter. In some countries, the
younger the bride, the higher the bride price. This practice creates an economic incentive where
girls are sought and married early by her family to the highest bidder. Child marriages of girls is
a way out of desperate economic conditions, or simply a source of income to the parents. Bride
price is another cause of child marriage and child trafficking.

Bride kidnapping

Bride kidnapping, also known as bridenapping, marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is

a practice in which a male abducts the female he wishes to marry. Bride kidnapping has been
practiced around the world and throughout history. It continues to occur in countries in Central
Asia, the Caucasus region, and parts of Africa, and among peoples as diverse as the Hmong in
Southeast Asia, the Tzeltalin Mexico, and the Romani in Europe.

In most nations, bride kidnapping is considered a crime rather than a valid form of marriage.
Some types of it may also be seen as falling along the continuum between forced
marriageand arranged marriage. However, even when the practice is against the law, judicial
enforcement remains lax in some areas. Bride kidnapping occurs in various parts of the world,
but it is most common in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Bride kidnapping is often (but not
always) a form of child marriage.It may be connected to the practice of bride price, and the
inability or unwillingness to pay it.

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Debt repayment

Money marriage refers to a marriage where a girl, usually, is married off to a man to settle debts
owed by her parents.

Persecution, forced migration, and slavery

Social disruption such as wars, major military campaigns, forced religious conversion, taking
natives as prisoners of war and converting them into slaves, arrest and forced migrations of
people often made a suitable groom a rare commodity. Bride's families would seek out any
available bachelors and marry them to their daughters, before events beyond their control moved
the boy away. Persecution and displacement of Roma and Jewish people in Europe, colonial
campaigns to get slaves from various ethnic groups in West Africa across the Atlantic
for plantations, Islamic campaigns to get Hindu slaves from India across Afghanistan's Hindu
Kush as property and for work, were some of the historical events that increased the practice of
child marriage before the 19th century.

Fear, poverty, social pressures, and sense of protection

A sense of social insecurity has been a cause of child marriages across the world. For example
in Nepal, parents fear likely social stigma if adult daughters stay at home. Other fear of crime
such as rape, which not only would be traumatic but may lead to less acceptance of the girl if she
becomes victim of a crime. For example, girls may not be seen as eligible for marriage if they are
not virgins. In other cultures, the fear is that an unmarried girl may engage in illicit
relationships, or elope causing a permanent social blemish to her siblings, or that the
impoverished family may be unable to find bachelors for grown-up girls in their economic social
group. Such fears and social pressures have been proposed as causes that lead to child marriages.
Insofar as child marriage is a social norm in practicing communities, the elimination of child
marriage must come through a changing of those social norms. The mindset of the communities,
and what is believed to be the proper outcome for a child bride, must be shifted to bring about a
change in the prevalence of child marriage.

Extreme poverty may make daughters an economic burden on the family, which may be relieved
by their early marriage, to the benefit of the family as well as the girl herself. Poor parents may

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have few alternatives they can afford for the girls in the family; they often view marriage as a
means to ensure their daughter's financial security and to reduce the economic burden of a
growing adult on the family. Child marriage can also be seen as means of ensuring a girl's
economic security, particularly if she lacks family members to provide for her. In reviews of
Jewish community history, scholarsclaim poverty, shortage of grooms, uncertain social and
economic conditions were a cause for frequent child marriages.

An additional factor causing child marriage is the parental belief that early marriage offers
protection. Parents feel that marriage provides their daughter with a sense of protection from
sexual promiscuity and safe from sexually transmitted infections. However, in reality, young
girls tend to marry older men, placing them at an increased risk of contracting a sexually
transmitted infection.

Protection through marriage may play a specific role in conflict settings. Families may have their
young daughters marry members of an armed group or military in hopes that she will be better
protected. Girls may also be taken by armed groups and forced into marriages

Religion, culture and civil law

Although the general marriageable age is 18 in the majority of countries, most jurisdictions allow
for exceptions for underage youth with parental and or judicial consent.Such laws are neither
limited to parental consent, from age 14 for girls and age 16 for boys. In Ukraine, in 2012, the
Family Code was amended to equalize the marriageable age for girls and boys to 18, with courts
being allowed to grant permission to marry from age 16 years if it is established that the
marriage is in the best interest of the youthdeveloping countries, nor to state religion. In some
countries a religious marriage by itself has legal validity, while in others it does not, as civil
marriage is obligatory. For Catholics incorporated into the Latin Church, the 1983 Code of
Canon Law sets the minimum age for a valid marriage at 16 for males and 14 for females. In
2015, Spain raised its minimum marriageable age to 18 (16 with court consent) from the
previous 14. In Mexico, marriage under 18 is allowed with parental consent, from age 14 for
girls and age 16 for boys. In Ukraine, in 2012, the Family Code was amended to equalize the
marriageable age for girls and boys to 18, with courts being allowed to grant permission to marry
from age 16 years if it is established that the marriage is in the best interest of the youth.

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Many states in the US permit child marriages, with court's permission. Since 2015, the minimum
marriageable age throughout Canadais 16. In Canada the age of majority is set by
province/territory at 18 or 19, so minors under this age have additional restrictions (i.e. parental
and court consent). Under the Criminal Code, Art. 293.2 Marriage under age of 16 years reads:
"Everyone who celebrates, aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one
of the persons being married is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an indictable offence and
liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. The Civil Marriage Act also states:
No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage. In the UK, marriage is
allowed for 16–17 years old with parental consent in England and Wales as well as in Northern
Ireland, and even without parental consent in Scotland However, a marriage of a person under 16
is void under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The United Nations Population Fund stated the
following;

In 2010, 158 countries reported that 18 years was the minimum legal age for marriage for
women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority. However, in 146 countries,
state or customary law allows girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other
authorities; in 52 countries, girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent. In contrast, 18 is
the legal age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries. Additionally, in 105
countries, boys can marry with the consent of a parent or a pertinent authority, and in 23
countries, boys under age 15 can marry with parental consent.

Lower legally allowed marriage age does not necessarily cause high rates of child marriages.
However, there is a correlation between restrictions placed by laws and the average age of first
marriage. In the United States, per 1960 Census data, 3.5% of girls married before the age of 16,
while an additional 11.9% married between 16 and 18. States with lower marriage age limits saw
higher percentages of child marriages. This correlation between higher age of marriage in civil
law and observed frequency of child marriages breaks down in countries with Islam as the state
religion. In Islamic nations, many countries do not allow child marriage of girls under their civil
code of laws. But, the state recognized Sharia religious laws and courts in all these nations have
the power to override the civil code, and often do. UNICEF reports that the top eight nations in
the world with highest observed child marriage rates are Niger (75%), Chad (72%), Mali (71%),

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Bangladesh (64%), Guinea (63%), Central African Republic (61%) Mozambique (56%), and
Nepal (51%).

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CHAPTER-3

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

National & International Perspective

1. Core elements of child marriage legislation-

The core elements of legislation related to child marriage are the minimum age of marriage, and
free individual and informed consent. The law should specify 18 years as the minimum legal age
for marriage; prohibit the marriage of girls as well as boys below that age; allow for the voidance
of marriages involving children; and specify the requirement of free and full informed consent of
both parties. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Model Law on child
marriage focuses exclusively on the age of consent to marriage, with no exceptions.

Why is it important to have 18 years as the minimum legal age of consent to marriage? Laws that
set a minimum age of marriage are an important way to safeguard boys and girls from being
married when they are not physically, mentally, psychologically or emotionally ready to reach
their fullest potential. Multiple harms are caused by child marriage, particularly for girls who are
denied their rights to health, education and development as a result. Their physical immaturity
leads to increased risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth that can also lead to
maternal mortality.

Countries take different legal approaches to ensure that the minimum age of marriage is
enforced. Some criminalize child marriages, some ban or invalidate marriage below the legally
prescribed minimum age, and others merely prescribe a minimum age of marriage without
expressly criminalizing or banning it. Governments need to have clear and consistent legislation
that establishes 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage solemnized under any marriage
law of the state (religious, civil). Adequate safeguards must be in place to ensure that parental
consent, judicial consent or other exceptions are not used to force girls into marriage.

The Human Rights Council resolution on child, early and forced marriage “recognizes that the
criminalization of child, early and forced marriage alone is insufficient when introduced without

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complementary measures and support programmes and may instead contribute to the
marginalization and loss of livelihood for the families affected and have the unintended effect of
increasing the practice of informal unions or unregistered marriages.

2. Complexities Of Criminalizing Child Marriage-

The criminalization of child marriage is a complex and polarizing issue. Applying child marriage
laws and punishing perpetrators sends a clear signal that marrying children is illegal and there is
no impunity for violating the law. On the other hand, criminalizing child marriage may have
unintended negative consequences for children and families. At the core of the criminalization
debate are the fundamental tensions between statutory (state) law on the one hand and religious
and customary law on the other. These laws are often inconsistent or contradictory

2(a). Diverse Positions on Criminalization- International efforts to end child marriage have taken
different positions on the criminalization of child marriage.

 Some legal perspectives based on children’s and women’s rights propose tougher sentencing
for sexual and genderbased violence against women and children, including child marriage.
Some proponents of this position consider child marriage as a form of sexual violence.
 Research institutes such as the International Center for Research on Women and the
Population Council have pointed out that there is no evidence that the enforcement of child
marriage laws has been effective in reducing child marriage prevalence and may have
negative effects on those strategies that are most likely to succeed in preventing child
marriage.
 Programme and advocacy initiatives, such as the Global Programme, Girls Not Brides, and
the SADC Model Law, support legal advocacy on the legal minimum age of marriage and
other legislative reforms related to child marriage. They also recognize the challenges of
implementing laws, however, and the potential for the negative and unintended consequences
of punishing the perpetrators of child marriage. They emphasize that law enforcement and
the severity of the punishment should complement and support, rather than undermine,
community-based efforts to promote changes in social and gender norms and behaviors.

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2(b). Negative effect of criminalization- The following are possible negative and unintended
consequences of criminalization depending on the different legal provisions adopted by
states.
 Girls are punished for not reporting the assaults they are victims of.
 Girls face social stigma, retaliation and mental distress associated with putting family
members in prison.
 Families and communities are destabilized in cases where everyone that attended a wedding
is imprisoned.
 Social impacts on families and children of the dissolution of child marriages, including
stigma and boycott.
 Economic impacts on families and complexities of reclaiming dowry payments and
returning the bride price.
 Girls’ separation from children, custody issues.
 The legal prohibition of child marriage may drive the practice underground and beyond the
reach of the law.
 In some countries (e.g., parts of India), the intense focus on anti-child marriage laws
precludes attention to complementary interventions to engage families and communities and
to support for adolescent health, sexuality, education and support services.
 Criminalization of consensual sexual relations (and elopement) between adolescents and
imprisonment of consenting adolescent boys and girls.

2(c). A Note On CriminalizationOf Consensual Sexual Relations-The original intention of laws

that criminalize consensual sex (such as statutory rape or defilement) is to primarily prevent
adults from engaging in sexual acts with children. In countries with conservative sexual mores,
however, parents use the law to break up own-choice marriages between adolescents that they do
not approve of, and to stop the sexual activity of their children. As a result, the law is used to
criminalize sexual relations between consenting adolescents, and boys and girls are convicted
and sent to prison. In Bangladesh, for example, underage girls and boys are punished with
imprisonment of up to 15 days or fined, or both (Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, 2017). In
these situations, law reform has to eliminate the criminalization of consensual sexual acts
between adolescents.
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Setting high minimum ages for both sexual consent and marriage is problematic. If the age of
sexual consent coincides with that of marriage and both are set at 18 years, it effectively
criminalizes behaviour in which large numbers of young people are engaged in societies
throughout the world. In Mongolia, research indicates that 38% of 16-year-olds have started
sexual activity. In Zimbabwe, 30% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age have had sex at least
once. In the United Kingdom, 64% of girls have had sex before the age of 18 years, and in
Iceland and Denmark, the figure was over 70%. Indeed, in the United Kingdom, 25% of girls and
33% of boys have had intercourse before the age of 16 years. Furthermore, rendering sexual
activity unlawful reduces the possibility of young people receiving the reproductive health care
and advice that they need for their protection and safety. In consequence, measures designed to
provide protection can have the reverse impact. On the other hand, the introduction of a lower
age for sexual consent than for marriage effectively endorses the fact that unmarried young
people will engage in sexual activity, which may be unacceptable in many countries.

South Africa and Kenya had criminalized consensual sexual acts among adolescents. In both
countries, the legislation was subject to constitutional challenges. The legal challenge was
successful in South Africa but failed in Kenya, which means that Kenya continues to treat such
consensual acts as criminal offences. The common factor in both countries’ cases is the
recognition that the criminalization of consensual sexual acts among adolescents and young
people is not appropriate for the following reasons:

 It is a denial of the evolving capacities of adolescents and their normative development as far
as adolescent sexual and reproductive rights are concerned;
 It infringes other rights such as to dignity and privacy;
 It stigmatizes adolescent sexuality;
 It may result in adolescents and young people not seeking sexual and reproductive health
and protection services and information, in fear of prosecution;
 It may result in gender-skewed convictions;
 It unnecessarily brings adolescents and young people into the criminal justice system.

3. Comprehensive Reform

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A law that criminalizes child marriage embodies an essential symbolic and deterrent power and
sends a strong signal that child marriage is a crime and will not be tolerated. A comprehensive
law will also encompass legal remedies and redress for victims of child marriage. The enactment
of the law should be accompanied by efforts to ensure broad public awareness of the law and its
provisions. Public awareness efforts should focus on the rights of victims to report and how to
access child-friendly and gender-sensitive justice mechanisms.

For a comprehensive legal approach to child marriage, a strong legal framework for child
marriage needs to be supported by laws and policies that promote gender equality and children’
rights, and protect women and girls against discrimination in law and practice. This includes
laws related to, among others: marriage and divorce (including registration and solemnization of
marriages), harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, dowry and bride price,
nationality and citizenship, property and inheritance, alimony and custody of children, sexual
and gender-based violence (including marital rape), child labour, slavery, child trafficking and
sex trafficking, right to education and health care, and mandatory birth and marriage registration.

3(a). Key Components Of a Comprehensive Approach-The following elements have been

proposed as key components of a comprehensive legislative approach to child marriage:

 Right to services-Guarantee reproductive rights and access to reproductive health services for
girls and boys; ensure the right to education (including comprehensive sexuality education);
ensure that girls can stay in school after marriage, during pregnancy and after having
children; and guarantee the right to benefit from social security.
 Right to information, expression, privacy and confidentially- Guarantee the right to privacy
and confidentiality of the child; to expression, including freedom to seek, receive and impart
information.
 Access to justice- Children’s access to justice, civil remedies, safety and protection.
 Protection from violence and exploitation- Protect children from abuse, neglect and harmful
practices, including child marriage, rape, sexual slavery and forced labour, bride kidnapping,
trafficking of women and girls, wife inheritance, marriage as settlement or payment,
international marriage brokering, and polygamy.
 Mandatory civil registration- through a system to register all marriages, births and deaths.
Ensure registration for all marriages, including civil, religious and customary unions as a

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means to track marriages and the age of marriage. Data gathered through registration systems
should be used to monitor and facilitate enforcement of the minimum marriage age standard,
provide age verification, and compile statistics on marriages.

3(b). Addressing plularism – civil, criminal, family, customary and religious laws- In many
countries the legal status of child marriage is regulated through a complex interplay of legislation
that includes civil law, criminal law and family law. Countries involved in the Global
Programme feature a wide range of combinations of formal law systems (postcolonial civil and
common law systems), customary laws and religious laws. The status of customary and religious
laws varies by country. Customary laws do not just vary by country but are often specific to each
location and open to interpretation by individual chiefs and community or traditional tribunals.
The application of religious or customary law depends on the hierarchy of sources of law and are
also part of national legislation.

In India, child marriage is regulated under general legislation – namely, the Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act 2006 (PCMA) – and by a range of personal laws (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi,
Jewish). The inconsistencies between the PCMA and personal laws exemplifies the legal maze
that girls throughout the country often find themselves in when facing child marriage.
Contradictions persist in India’s plural legal system with regard to consent, the minimum legal
age of marriage, punishments for child marriage, and married girls’ right to dissolve child
marriages.

 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

Under PCMA, the marriageable age for a female is 18 years and for a male, it is 21 years. A
decree of nullity can be obtained by a girl who has entered into a child marriage within 2
years of attaining the age of 18 years.

 Hindu Marriage Act, 1956

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, only the parties to a child marriage are punishable even if they
did not consent to the union. There are no provisions for punishing the parents or people who
solemnized the marriage. A girl can get the marriage annulled only if she was married off before

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attaining the age of 15 and she challenges the marriage before turning 18. There is no such
express provision to prohibit child marriage.

 Muslim Personal Law

Muslim law is not codified in India. Therefore, its provisions are based on the interpretation of
Quran by scholars. Under the Muslim law, there is no bar to child marriage. A guardian has a
right to get a child married. However, the couple has ‘option of puberty’ known as khayar-r-ul-
bulugh where they can repudiate the marriage after attaining puberty. However, they must do so
before turning 18 and only if the marriage has not been consummated. The age of marriage under
Muslim law is the age of puberty which is 15 years. However, marriage before the age of 7 even
if contracted by a lawful guardian, is void ab initio.

 Indian Christian Marriage Act (ICMA)

ICMA provides that a preliminary notice is to be issued 14 days prior to the marriage if the
marriage is to be contracted between minors. After the expiration of the said period, the parties
can go on with the marriage without the consent of their guardians.

 Other Personal Laws

Under Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act (PMDA), a child marriage is invalid. However, the Act is
silent regarding age where the provisions for an invalid marriage are listed. Jewish law in India is
uncodified. Under it, the marriageable age is the age of puberty which is fixed at 12 years

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CHAPTER-4

POSITION IN INDIA

Child marriages are prevalent in India. The Census of India has counted and reported married
women by age, with proportion of females in child marriage falling in each 10 year census
period since 1981. In its 2001 census report, India stated zero married girls below the age of 10,
1.4 million married girls out of 59.2 million girls aged 10–14, and 11.3 million married girls out
of 46.3 million girls aged 15–19.Times of India reported that 'since 2001, child marriage rates in
India have fallen by 46% between 2005 and 2009.Jharkhand is the state with highest child
marriage rates in India (14.1%), while Kerala is the only state where child marriage rates have
increased in recent years.Jammu and Kashmir was reported to be the only state with lowest child
marriage cases at 0.4% in 2009.Rural rates of child marriages were three times higher than urban
India rates in 2009.

Child marriage is an active political subject as well as a subject of continuing cases under review
in the highest courts of India.

Several states of India have introduced incentives to delay marriages. For example, the state
of Haryana introduced the so-called’ Apna beti; Apna dhan’ program in 1994, which translates to
"My daughter, My wealth". It is a conditional cash transfer program dedicated to delaying young
marriages by providing a government paid bond in her name, payable to her parents, in the
amount of ₹25,000, after her 18th birthday if she is not married.

 Consequence of child marriage in India-

(i) Early maternal deaths- Girls who marry earlier in life are less likely to be informed
about reproductive tissues and because of this, pregnancy-related deaths are known to be the
leading cause of mortality among married girls between 15 and 19 years of age.These girls are
twice more likely to die in childbirth than girls between 20 and 24 years of age. Girls younger
than 15 years of age are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth.

(ii)Infant health- Infants born to mothers under the age of 18 are 60% more likely to die in their
first year than to mothers over the age of 19. If the children survive, they are more likely to
suffer from low birth weight, malnutrition, and late physical and cognitive development.

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(iii)Fertility outcomes- A study conducted in India by the International Institute for Population

Sciences and Macro International in 2005 and 2006 showed high fertility, low fertility control,
and poor fertility outcomes data within child marriages. 90.8% of young married women
reported no use of a contraceptive prior to having their first child. 23.9% reported having a child
within the first year of marriage. 17.3% reported having three or more children over the course of
the marriage. 23% reported a rapid repeat childbirth, and 15.2% reported an unwanted
pregnancy. 15.3% reported a pregnancy termination. Fertility rates are higher in slums than in
urban areas

(iv)Violence- Young girls in a child marriage are more likely to experience domestic violence in
their marriages as opposed to older women. A study conducted in India by the International
Centre for Research on Women showed that girls married before 18 years of age are twice as
likely to be beaten, slapped, or threatened by their husbands and three times more likely to
experience sexual violence. Young brides often show symptoms of sexual abuse and post-
traumatic stress.

 Prevention Programmes In India-

Apni Beti, Apna Dhan (ABAD), which translates to "My daughter, My wealth," is one of India's
first conditional cash transfer programmes dedicated to delaying young marriages across the
nation. In 1994, the Indian government implemented this programme in the state of Haryana. On
the birth of a mother's first, second, or third child, they are set to receive ₹ 500 within the first 15
days to cover their post-delivery needs. Along with this, the government gives ₹ 2,500 to invest
in a long-term savings bond in the daughter's name, which can be later cashed for ₹ 25,000 after
her 18 birthday. She can only receive the money if she is not married. Anju Malhotra, an expert
on child marriage and adolescent girls said of this programme, "No other conditional cash
transferhas this focus of delaying marriage.

It's an incentive to The International Centre for Research on Women will evaluate Apni Beti,
Apna Dhan over the course of the year 2012, when the program's initial participants turn 18, to
see if the programme, particularly the cash incentive, has motivated parents to delay their
daughters' marriages. "We have evidence that conditional cash transfer programmes are very
effective in keeping girls in school and getting them immunised, but we don’t yet have proof that

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this strategy works for preventing marriage," said Pranita Achyut, the program manager for Apni
Beti, Apna Dhan. "If Haryana state’s approach proves to be valuable, it could potentially be
scaled up to make a significant difference in many more girls' lives – and not only in India.
encourage parents to value their daughters.

About 50 per cent rise in the cases of child marriages has been recorded in 2020 over the
previous year, according to the recent NCRB data, with experts saying it does not only mean
there has been an increase in these instances but that there also has been a rise in reporting.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of 2020, a total of 785 cases
were registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
The number of cases registered were the highest in Karnataka at 184, followed by Assam at 138,
West Bengal at 98, Tamil Nadu at 77 and Telangana at 62.
In 2019, 523 cases were registered under the act, while in 2018, 501 cases were lodged.
According to the data, the number of cases registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage
Act in 2018 was 501, in 2017 was 395, in 2016 was 326 and in 2015 was 293.
Child marriage, according to Indian law, is a marriage in which either the woman is below the
age of 18 or the man is below the age of 21.
Situation analysis by NCPCR reveals that there has been only a slow and negligible change over
time in the incidence of child marriage for boys and girls and new urban sites in certain states are
reporting high incidences of child marriage. Various reasons reported in the literature of child
marriage may be grouped into familial characteristics: poverty, lack of education, caste, birth-
order, and family size, etc. The other contributory reasons emanate from the socio political
system, such as patriarchy and practices associated with gender discrimination. The practice of
child marriage is strongly rooted in gender in inequality of our culture, in particular, the
discrimination against girls in matters of education, employment, and sexual.

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CHAPTER-5

JUDICIAL APPROACH

The judicial pronouncements have time and again highlighted the superseding effect of secular
law over the personal law in the guise of fundamental rights or moral principles. However, there
are inconsistencies between the judgements of various high courts.

(i)Lajja v State (W.P.(Crl.) No 338/2008)

The Delhi High court held that the PCMA prevails over personal laws.After analysing
various authorities, courts concluded such marriages are simply not void nor avoidable they
are non existent.But there are certain provisions in some enactments which imply or refer
such marriages as voidable. The section 6 (1) (c) of Dowry Prohibition Act uses words
“when women was a minor” or section 13 (2)(iv) of Hindu Marriage Act which provides
the option of dissolution to women these provisions confer such marriages are voidable.The
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 itself allows marriage of minor girl if the customs,
tradition, religion, personal law provides for the same. Rendering such marriages a legal
status.If a marriage is not void, a wife would follow her husband as it is already provided
under section 6 (c) Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, that the husband is the
guardian of the wife. If the girl is below 16 years of age, consent is immaterial. But if a
special circumstance persists and the girl, after attaining the age of 16 or more, gives a
statement that she consented to go with the man in question, then the proceeding under
section 363 and 376 I.P.C can be quashed.

It was concluded by the court and established by the evidence that Ms. Meera was minor when she
consented to go with the accused and married him. But as of now, she is 17 years of age and as per
the analysis this marriage is voidable and when attains the age of majority it will be her choice to
exercise her rights under the Prohibition of child marriage act, 2006.

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 CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA

(ii)Seema Begum v State(writ petition no.75889 of 2013( GM-RES))

The Karnataka High Court in 2013 reiterated the judgement of Delhi High court in the case
of Lajja v State and held that the PCMA prevails over personal laws.

(iii)Yusuf Ibrahim Mohammad Lokhat V State of Gujurat

The High court of Gujarat observed that “According to the personal Law of Muslims, the girl no
sooner she attains the puberty or completes the 15 years, whichever is earlier, is competent to get
married without the consent of her parents”. This clearly gives the idea that according to the
learned judges, the personal laws should be taken as a primary source to decide the cases of
underage marriage.

(iv)Manish Singh vs State Govt Of Nct And Ors. on 7 December, 2005

(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent; or
(b) that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (ii) of section 5; or(c)
that the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian inmarraige of the
petitioner (was required under Section5 as it stood immediately before the commencement of
the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 . The consent of such guardian was
obtained by force or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or
circumstance concerning the respondent.

(v)Dev Kishan And Ors. Lrs. Of Kishan vs Ram Kishan And Ors. on 9 May,2002

That even for the sake of argument, the loans were taken by the defendant No. 2 from the
appellant defendant No. 1 for the purposes of marrying his minors after executing mortgage
deeds and sale deed, such transactions became void being opposed to public policy in view of
prohibition of child marriage under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 (hereinafter referred
to as "the Act of 1929") and, therefore, the amount, if spent on the marriages of minor children,
cannot be termed as legal necessity.

(vi
) Chandra Sreenivasa Rao vs Korrapati Raja Rama Mohana Rao And ... on 17 April, 1951 The

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 CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA

heading of the Act is "An Act to restrain the solemnization of child marriages." "Child" has been
defined to mean a person who, if a male, is under 18 years of age, and if a female, is under 15
years of age. "Child marriage" is described as a marriage to which cither of the contracting
parties is a child. Sections 3 and 4provide the penalty for a male above 18 years if he contracts
a child marriage. Sections 5 and 6which are the relevant sections:

"Whoever performs, conducts or directs any child marriage shall be punishable with simple

imprisonment which may extend to three months and shall also be liable to fine unless he proves
that he had reason to believe that the marriage was not a child marriage.
(vii)Emperor vs Fulabhai Bhulabhai Joshi on 27June,1940This is an appeal by the Government
of Bombay from the order of acquittal, passed by the Sessions Judge of Nadiad in appeal, in a
case in which the opponents and two others were tried under the Child Marriage Restraint
Act (XIX of 1929) for performing a child marriage. The opponents were the parents of the bride
who was above the; prohibited age. She was married on May 2, 1938, to a husband who was
below that age. The latter's father was accused No. 1 and the priest who officiated was accused
No. 4 at the trial. Accused No. 1 alone was charged with the offence under Section 6 as a parent
who had permitted the child marriage to be solemnized, and the remaining accused including the
opponents were charged under Section 5. The learned Magistrate convicted accused No. 1
under Section 6 and the rest under Section 5 of the Act. In, his opinion the opponents, although
they are not the parents of the bridegroom, who is a ' child' within the meaning of the Act, were
present and had taken part in certain ceremonies such as ' Kanyadan' or the gift of the bride at the
time of the ceremony, and were therefore liable. There is no suggestion that they performed any
ceremony. The learned Sessions Judge took a contrary view because, in his opinion, Section
5 contemplated punishment of those who solemnized a child marriage, such as a priest or a Kazi
or a Vakil, and did not apply to the parents of the parties to the marriage, and that Section 6 only
applied to the parents of a child.

(viii) Sh. Jitender Kumar Sharma vs State & Another on 11 August, 2010
Coming back to the division bench decisions mentioned above, it is pertinent to note that they
were rendered prior to the enactment and enforcement of The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,
2006 which replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. The latter act did not contain any
provisions impinging upon the validity of a marriage. However, the Prohibition

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 CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA

of Child Marriage Act, 2006 contains specific provisions which deal with void and
voidable marriages. Let us, first of all, consider the issue of void marriages. Section 12  details
the circumstances under which the marriage of a ―minor child would be void.
(ix)Bholu Khan vs State Of Nct Of Delhi & Ors. on 1 February, 2013 In Mrs. Tahira Begum vs.
State of Delhi & Ors., W.P. (Crl.) 446/2012 decided on 09.05.2012, a Division Bench of this
Court examined the Muslim Law and observed that a Muslim girl can get married, without
consent of her parents, once she attains the age of puberty. Reference was made to the decision
of Mohd. Idris vs. State of Bihar & Ors. 1980 Crl.L.J. 764 and a decision of this Court in Vivek
Kumar @ Sanju and Anjali @ Afsana vs. The State and Another, Crl.M.C. No.3073-74/2006
decided on 23.02.2007. Shamsuddin vs. State , W.P. (Crl.) 13/2009 decided on 15.05.2009 in
which the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 were also considered.

(x) T.Sivakumar vs The Inspector Of Police on 3 October, 2011In the instant case,
the marriage of the detenue with the petitioner is neither void nor voidable nor invalid under both
Act, HMA and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 as no petition was filed
under Section 3 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 by the detenue who is still a minor.

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CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION

Child Marriage is an evil that cannot be eliminated without support from the society. There have
been demands to make child marriage void ab initio under the Prohibition of Child Marriages
Act, but Indian society is complicated and complex and making child marriages void will only
further jeopardise the rights of women who are victims of child marriage. Mere legislation will
not serve the purpose unless there is support and backing from the society. Since, it is a social
evil community support and commitment coupled along with the stricter implementation f laws
will lead to the elimination of social evil of child marriage from the society.

 Suggestion

There are certain suggestions which can be adopted in order to lessen child marriages:

1. Develop strong support systems to keep girls in school. Provide scholarships where
necessary and encourage teachers to support girls.
2. -Strengthen and establish community networks and partnerships involving girls clubs,
teachers, elders, local government officials, women and youth groups, community and
religious leaders, etc. that jointly work towards ending early marriage.
3. -Strengthen the role of the judicial system particularly the police, judges, and
persecutors through training on enforcement of the law against early marriage.
4. -Efforts should be made to give-up the factors motivating child marriages, all efforts
should aim at changing the gender biased attitudes of parents and society by imparting
proper education on one hand and eradicating poverty on the other.

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