What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background (Context of the Article)
• About Child Marriage (Data, Legal Framework, Court’s Judgement, Significance, etc.)
• Conclusion

Background:

• In a recent ground-breaking ruling in the Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action v. Union of India case, the Supreme Court has shifted the focus on child marriages from criminal prosecution to addressing the harm and challenges faced by victims.
• The Court laid out comprehensive guidelines aimed at strengthening the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) and highlighted the crucial role of state governments in enforcing these measures.
• The judgment emphasizes that efforts to tackle child marriage should not only focus on prevention and punishment but also on empowering those already in child marriages to reclaim their independence.

Child Marriages in India:

• According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the percentage of women aged 20-24 who were married before 18 has declined significantly from 47.4% in 2005 to 23.3% in 2021.
• Despite this progress, India is far from achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of completely eradicating child marriage by 2030.
• Institutional Approach:
  • Efforts have traditionally focused on prevention and, more recently, on prosecution.
  • For instance, in Assam, the authorities took mass action by arresting men who were found married to minors.
  • However, criminal prosecution alone might not address the complexities surrounding child marriage, especially in cases where young individuals marry to escape challenging situations.

Legal Framework for Child Marriage in India:

• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA):
  • Defines child marriage as a marriage where either the husband is under 21 or the wife under 18.
  • Such marriages are “voidable,” meaning they remain valid until one party (who was a minor at the time) seeks to annul it.
  • In states like Karnataka and Haryana, child marriages are void from the start.
• Annulment vs. Divorce:
  • Annulment treats the marriage as though it never existed, restoring the individuals to an unmarried status.
  • Divorce acknowledges a valid marriage that existed before dissolution, requiring grounds like cruelty or adultery.
  • For annulment under PCMA, the petitioner needs only to prove that a child marriage occurred, without needing additional grounds.
• Other Civil Remedies under PCMA:
  • The Act also provides support measures like maintenance, residence orders, and the return of wedding gifts to ensure some security for those exiting child marriages.

Challenges of Criminalizing Child Marriage:

• While child marriages can be voided, the PCMA, along with other laws like POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), criminalizes several activities related to child marriage. These include:
  • Performing or promoting child marriage.
  • Adult men marrying minors.
  • Sexual activity within a child marriage.
• Impact of Criminalization:
  • These criminal provisions may inadvertently penalize the families of the married minors, potentially isolating the young girl involved.
  • It could restrict her access to healthcare and reproductive services due to the fear of legal repercussions for her family.
  • Studies have shown that criminal laws often disproportionately target self-initiated marriages where young couples elope, as opposed to arranged marriages.
  • A 2024 study conducted by Enfold Proactive Health Trust and Civic Data Lab revealed that nearly half of the 174 PCMA cases examined were self-initiated marriages, pointing towards a nuanced scenario where adolescents exercise agency in patriarchal setups by eloping.

Key Features of the Supreme Court’s Judgement:

• Child Betrothals: The Supreme Court highlighted a loophole in the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), which bans child marriage but is silent on child betrothals.
  • Betrothals, often used to secure future alliances, can be arranged for children, allowing families to delay marriage until children are of legal age, thereby evading the law.
  • The Court urged Parliament to criminalize child betrothals, deeming them a violation of children's rights to autonomy, agency, and freedom of choice.
• Gendered Impact: The Court acknowledged for the first time that both boys and girls suffer due to child marriage.
  • While girls often face physical and emotional abuse, boys are pressured into premature responsibilities, disrupting their personal and professional lives.
• Interaction with Personal Laws: The judgment noted the confusion over how PCMA interacts with various personal laws governing marriage across religious communities.
  • While the government suggested that PCMA should override personal laws, the Court refrained from making this ruling, awaiting future legislative amendments.
• Protecting Childhood: The Court emphasized that child marriage infringes on the fundamental right to childhood, forcing minors into adult roles and denying them the ability to make informed choices. This perpetuates poverty and social marginalization.
• Strengthening Enforcement: The Court recommended appointing dedicated Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) in every district, ensuring they focus solely on preventing child marriages without other duties that might divert their attention.

Significance of Supreme Court’s Judgement:

• Child marriage often results in social and economic hardships for those attempting to leave such unions.
• The Supreme Court judgment urges the government to introduce comprehensive support measures, including:
  • Skill Development & Vocational Training: To equip women exiting child marriages with economic independence.
  • Rehabilitation & Follow-Up Support: Ensuring that those who exit marriages can reintegrate into society.
  • Compensation: Consideration of compensation for women under victim support schemes.
• Empowering Women within Child Marriages:
  • Some women might choose to stay in their marriages but need tools to assert their rights regarding reproductive health, employment, and education.
  • The judgment's focus on sex education for adolescents aims to empower young people in such marriages with knowledge to navigate these challenges.

Conclusion:

• Recognizing the evolving trends of child marriage, where many young individuals choose to marry on their own, the judgment advocates for a more balanced approach that combines prevention with empowerment rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
• This approach aligns with global best practices, which suggest that addressing socio-economic and educational factors can be more effective in eliminating child marriage than punitive action alone.