Kidding with anti-Child Marriage laws, cases swell to double between 2018 and 2022, Karnataka records maximum of 856 case

Stringent punishment, stricter than ever laws, implementation of government schemes to check rising incidence of Child Marriages in country, etc seem to have failed in putting an effective check on the growing menace of Child Marriages in different parts of the country. At least this is what the data provided by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2022 report testifies.

As per the latest NCRB report, between 2018 and 2022, the count of cases of child marriage in country had doubled. In 2018, NCRB data revealed a total of 501 cases of the offence were registered under “The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006” in different states of the country which doubled to 1002 cases in 2022. A total of 525 cases were registered in 2019, 785 cases in 2020, 1050 cases in 2021 and 1002 cases in 2022 respectively.

Top 10  states with maximum cases of child marriage

State-wise, records revealed, Karnataka topped the top10 list with maximum cases of child marriage reported between 2018 and 2022, with a shocking 856 cases followed by Assam (659 cases), Tamil Nadu (514), West Bengal (464), Maharashtra (264), Telangana (229), Odisha (178), Haryana (144), Andhra Pradesh (95) and Bihar (72 cases).

Other states with cases of cases of child marriage reported between 2018 and 2022 include Gujarat (64), Rajasthan (54), Kerala (51), Uttar Pradesh (43), Punjab (37), Uttarakhand (31), Himachal Pradesh (27), Madhya Pradesh (23), Jharkhand (22), Delhi (10), Tripura (8), Jammu & Kashmir (6), Manipur (1).

States with no case of child marriage

States having not a single case of child marriage registered in the five year period include Goa, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Minister Speak

In a statement tabled in parliament recently Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi mentioned that the government had enacted ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006’ (PCMA) in order to curb child marriages and to take punitive actions against those associated with child marriages. Section 16 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) authorized state governments to appoint for the whole State, or such part there of as may be specified, an officer or officers to be known as the ‘Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO)’ having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification.

Role of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

Also, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) undertakes awareness programs and consultations with stakeholders from time to time in this regard. In addition, Government of India has introduced CHILDLINE with short code 1098, a 24X7 telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis which responds with suitable interventions to call for any form of assistance which a
child requires, including for prevention of child marriages in coordination with police, Child Marriage Protection Officers (CMPOs), District Child Protection Units etc.

Role of Child Marriage Protection Officers

The role to be played by Child Marriage Protection Officers or CMPOs include advising individuals or counsel the residents of the locality not to indulge in promoting, helping, aiding or allowing the solemnization of child marriages; to create awareness about the ill effects of child marriages; and to sensitize the community on the issue of child marriages. The CMPOs function under the respective State Governments/ UT administrations.

Awareness drives to prevent child marriages

The Central Government undertakes awareness drives, media campaigns and outreach programs and issues advisories to the States/ UTs from time to time to highlight evil effects of this practice. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has written to all States/ UTs to increase the number of CMPOs. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development implements the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) component under the ‘Mission Shakti’ umbrella scheme, wherein creation of awareness on matters pertaining to gender equality and discouraging child marriage is stressed upon.

State-wise cases registered under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006