RESTRAINT OF CHILD MARRIAGES

INTRODUCTION

Child marriage is not a new phenomenon in Indian society. It has been prevalent
in India for centuries. The most common reasons for child marriage include
poverty, lack of education and insecurity among other reasons. However, child
marriage brings along with it various consequences. These include sociological
as well as psychological consequences such as denial of the right to education,
early parenthood, hindrance in the physical and mental development of both
boys and girls etc.

Child marriages have been proven to be more devastating for girls as compared
to boys. Girls are expected to adjust to the major changes at an early stage of
life. Girls are often exposed to various crimes such as domestic violence and
marital rape.

To prevent the harsh consequences of child marriage in India, the Child

Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, was enacted by the British in order to eradicate
the culture of child marriage in India. However, the Act was repealed and
replaced by the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. This article seeks to
analyse the various aspects involved in the prohibition of child marriages in
India.

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

Child marriages have deep roots in Indian society. Even prior to the
colonisation of the State, child marriages prevailed on a large scale in India.
However, in 1929, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was enacted in order to
eradicate child marriages in India. The age limit set by the legislation was 14
years for girls and 18 years for boys.

The Act consisted of various loopholes. Firstly, the age limit was very low for
both boys and girls. Children could not be expected to have developed a mature
mind as well as to attain the physical health for marriage. The consequences of
the marriage still subsisted. In addition to this, the punishment under the Act
was very trivial. Hence, the legislation was amended in 1978 post-
independence, in order to increase the age limit. The age limit was increased to
18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.
The Act still failed to be proven effective in restraining child marriages in India.
One of the major reasons was the punishment under the Act. In order to bring
reforms under the law, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 was
enacted, with increased punishment for the offenders. The relevant provisions of
the Act of 2006 have been discussed in further sections.

Role of International Centre for Research on Women and UNICEF

The International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) has played a

significant role in terminating the practice of child marriages in India. The
policy adopted by the ICRW can be summed up so as to include the following
solutions to curb the practice of child marriages:

 Educating girls

 Providing economic support

 Educating parents and society

 Encourage supporting laws and policies

In India, the ICRW has implemented the Maharashtra Life Skills

Programme through which it was successful to increase the median age of
marriage of a girl in Maharashtra from 16 to 17 in a short span of one year
(1998-1999).

Another crucial international organisation that has been working rigorously to

curb the practice of child marriage in India is UNICEF. The policy adopted by
UNICEF India is to target the root causes of the practice and terminate the
same. It has identified various socio-economic causes to be the primary
concern. Another important cause of child marriage is the lack of education in
society. UNICEF has joined forces with the UNFPA to implement various
policies to conclude the act of child marriages in India.

Relevant provisions of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

Section 2(a) “child” means a person who, if a male, has not completed twenty-
one years of age, and if a female, has not completed eighteen years of age

Section 2(b) “child marriage” means a marriage to which either of the

contracting parties is a child.
Section 3 Child marriages to be voidable at the option of contracting party
being a child:

Section 3 provides that if a child marriage has been solemnized before or after
the commencement of the Act, it shall be voidable at the option of the party to
the marriage who was minor at the time of solemnization. A district court may
grant a decree for annulment of the marriage if it is satisfied with the applicant.

Section 4 Provision for maintenance and residence to female contracting

party to Child marriage

Section 4 of the Act provides that the district court is empowered to pass an
interim order for maintenance of the female child while passing a decree under
Section 3, in order to ensure that the girl child is able to fulfil her needs. The
court may even direct the guardians of the male child if it is found that he is a
minor as per the Majority Act, 1875.

Section 6 Legitimacy of Children born of child marriages.

Section 6 of the Act provides that if a child is conceived from child marriage,
irrespective of the fact whether a decree for annulment has been passed under
Section 3 or not, such child shall be deemed legitimate for every purpose.

Section 9 Punishment for male adult marrying a child:

Section 9 provides the punishment for an adult male who solemnizes a child
marriage, which shall be rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to
two years or fine which may extend to rupees one lakh, or both.

Section 10 Punishment for solemnising a child marriage:

Section 10 provides that anyone who performs, conducts, directs, or abets any
child marriage shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which
may extend to two years along with a fine which may extend to rupees one lakh.

Section 11 Punishment for promoting or permitting solemnisation of child

marriages:

Section 11 of the Act provides that anyone who promotes or negligently fails to
prevent the solemnization of a child marriage shall be punishable with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years along with a fine which
may extend to rupees one lakh. The section also criminalises attending and
participating in child marriage. The proviso to the provision exempts women
from imprisonment.

Section 12 Marriage of a minor child to be void in certain circumstances

Section 12 provides that where a child below the age of 18 years is enticed out
of the keeping of the legal guardian, or is forced, compelled or deceived, or is
trafficked or used for immoral purposes, and such child is made to solemnize a
child marriage, such a marriage shall be void ab initio.

Section 16 Child Marriage Prohibition Officers

Section 16 of the Act provides the provisions for the appointment of the Child
Marriage Prohibition Officer by the State Government and provides the duties
and powers of the officer. The duties shall include prevention of solemnization
of child marriages in areas under his or her jurisdiction, collection of evidence
for the prosecution of offenders under the Act, creating awareness about
consequences of child marriage, collection of statistics on child marriage in
areas under his or her jurisdiction etc. The officer is also empowered to
approach the district court seeking annulment of any child marriage.

CONCLUSION

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, replaced the Child Marriage
Restraint Act, 1929, in order to prohibit the solemnization of child marriages in
India. However, child marriages are still prevalent in the country at a significant
rate.

According to a report of the Australian Aid in collaboration with the

International Centre for Research on Women and the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), child marriages are still prevalent at the rate of 50% in India.
India is one of the most backward nations in prohibiting child marriages. The
condition of rural India is, even more, worse than that of urban India.

In order to overcome this situation, the legislature has introduced

the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The Bill seeks to
amend the minimum age of marriage of a female child and bring it at par with
that of a male child to 21 years. In addition to this, the Bill also seeks to
increase the limitation period for the marriage to be declared null and void. The
present limitation period under Section 3(3) of the Act is two years after
attaining the legal age for marriage, i.e. 21 years for males and 18 years for
females. The Bill proposes this period be increased to five years.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill states that the amendment is
necessary for bringing the status of women at par with that of men, citing
Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The Bill, if enacted, shall also bring an
amendment to all the personal laws in order to change the minimum age of
marriage to be 21 years for both men and women.