SC seeks information from Centre on steps taken to curb child marriages

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to state what steps have been taken to implement prohibition on child marriages, after a public interest litigation (PIL) alleged that prohibition officers under the Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006 are not being appointed to enforce the ban because of which the practice is still prevalent.

Hearing the PIL filed by the Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud directed the Union ministry of women and child development to file an updated status report by collecting data from states on the “nature and extent” of child marriages.

The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, also asked the Centre to apprise the court of the steps taken to implement the 2006 Act and policies formulated to effectuate that purpose. The matter will be heard next in July.

Additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan appearing for the Centre told the court that the issue has been detaining the attention of Parliament where a bill has been moved to raise the marriageable age of women to 21 years across all communities. The same is pending before the Standing Committee, she said.

Divan added that there are authorities at the state level under the 2006 Act and it is the responsibility of the state governments to appoint child marriage prohibition officers.

Also Read:Empowerment is the path to stopping child marriage

The PIL claimed before the court that not all states have appointed prohibition officers, and that, in some states, block development officers in districts were given additional responsibility under the Act.

“The Union shall engage with states to apprise the court on the implementation of Section 16 of the Act on the appointment of prohibition officers. The affidavit shall also indicate whether the officer has been given other multifarious duties,” the bench said in its order.