The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Saturday requested the Rajasthan state authorities to rethink the provisions of the Rajasthan Compulsory Marriage Registration (Amendment) Bill 2021, which was just lately handed by the Assembly. It mentioned the invoice legalizes youngster marriage and is in violation of a number of youngster safety legal guidelines.
NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanungo on Saturday wrote to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot saying that the provisions of the Bill can have a severe impression on the bodily, psychological, social and schooling of minors within the state.
“The Rajasthan government is demolishing the work done by Mahatma Gandhi against child marriage. We won’t let that happen. This is in direct violation of child rights in the country and if need be, NCPCR will approach the Supreme Court against this bill,” Kanungo advised The Sunday Express.
“The Commission needs to state that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 is the Central Act which prohibits youngster marriage and youngster marriage with a woman youngster by a male grownup to be handled as an offense below part 9. Section 10 of the Act. Provides additional that whoever performs, conducts, directs or abets youngster marriage, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a time period which can lengthen to 2 years and shall be liable to advantageous which can lengthen to 1 lakhs, except he proves that he has purpose to consider that the wedding was not a toddler marriage,” Kanungo mentioned in his letter.
Section 11 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act additionally offers for punishment for selling or abetting youngster marriage and Section 12 holds that any marriage carried out by deceit, coercion or inducement of a minor is void. All offenses below the Act are cognizable and non-bailable.
Under Section 2 (14, xii) of the Juvenile Justice Act, a woman youngster who’s at imminent threat of marriage earlier than the age of 18 years is a “child in need of care and protection”. The JJ Act additional states that efforts needs to be made to make sure the care, safety, correct rehabilitation or reinstatement of a woman youngster, who’s at imminent threat of marriage and due to this fact has kids in want of safety.
“This transfer by the Rajasthan authorities is a transparent violation of all these current legal guidelines. It is obvious that this invoice is solely politically motivated to fulfill the vote financial institution.
While Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot couldn’t be reached for feedback, his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Lokesh Sharma, had mentioned that “registration of marriage in itself is not a proof that the marriage is valid.”
Sharma had referred to the 2006 Supreme Court judgment in Seema vs Ashwini Kumar that the registration of each marriage is “compulsory”.
During the talk on the Bill within the Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal mentioned that the Bill “nowhere says that marriage at an early age will be legal”.
– With ENS enter from Jaipur
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
