SC frames guidelines, orders setting up specialised police unit to eradicate child marriages

As India deals with the "social evil" of child marriages, the Supreme Court on Friday issued a series of directions to the Centre, states and other authorities and ordered establishment of a specialised police unit to eradicate the malaise.

"Child marriage is a social evil, and its commission is a criminal offence. Despite the near-universal agreement on the ills of child marriage, its commission and prevalence have been sobering. Child marriage is the phenomenon of children being married before they attain the minimum legal age under the law,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The Bench, which also included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, issued several directions to various stakeholders and ordered appointment of officers solely responsible for discharging the functions of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) at the district level across India.

"Recognising the sensitivity and unique aspects of child marriage cases, a specialised police unit is deemed essential. The state Ministries of Home Affairs shall consider the viability of integrating the Special Juvenile Police Unit into the child marriage prevention framework," it ordered.

The Bench said these guidelines would prioritise "prevention before protection and protection before penalisation" as it was cognisant of the impact that criminalisation has on families and communities.

"To ensure effective use of penal provisions in the PCMA, it is imperative that there is widespread awareness and education about child marriage and the legal consequences of its commission," the bench said, adding it should not be understood to discourage prosecution of those who commit illegal acts.

The top court directed the ministries of Women and Child Development and Home in states and UTs to conduct quarterly performance reviews of CMPOs and law enforcement agencies to assess the effectiveness of child marriage prevention initiatives and response times besides outcomes of a reported case.

It fixed district-level responsibility for prevention of child marriages and said, "In addition to the mandate of the CMPO …the collectors and superintendents of police in each district across India shall also be responsible for actively preventing child marriages within their districts” and empowered magistrates to take suo-motu action and issue preventive orders under the title "Judicial Measures".

It ordered that strict disciplinary and legal action should to be taken against any public servant found to be in deliberate neglect of duty concerning child marriage cases.

According to UNICEF, One-third of the child brides live in India. Nearly one in four young women in India (23 per cent) were married or in union before their 18th birthday. Over half of the girls and women in India who married in childhood live in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is home to the largest number of child brides.

The verdict came on a PIL filed by Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action seeking stronger enforcement mechanisms to curb child marriages.

As ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amending) Bill 2021’ was pending before Parliament, the Bench said, “Parliament may consider outlawing child betrothals which may be used to evade penalty under the PCMA. While a betrothed child may be protected as a child in need of care and protection under the JJ Act, the practice also requires targeted remedies for its elimination.”

It directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development “to circulate this judgment to the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all the States and Union Territories, as well as NALSA, and NCPCR for strict compliance with the directions. This shall be done within a period of four weeks from the date of delivery of this judgment.”

The Bench ordered that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Rural Development, statutory authorities, institutions, and organizations under the control of the respective ministries.