Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh leaders in child marriage, awareness, socio-economic measures needed: SC | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Thousands of child marriages have taken place across India in the past three years, with the majority of incidents taking place in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra, the Union government has said. High Council on Wednesday.
Additional Attorney General Aishwarya Bhati, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, presented shocking statistics on the incidence of child marriage in the past three years before a bench including Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The Centre’s report, which collates statistics provided by the state, shows that as many as 8,966 child marriages were solemnised in Tamil Nadu in the last three years, followed by 8,348 in Karnataka, 8,324 in West Bengal, 4,440 in Telangana, 3,416 in Andhra Pradesh, 3,316 in Assam, 2,043 in Maharashtra, 1,206 in Gujarat, 1,197 in Uttar Pradesh and 1,104 in Haryana.
Bhati said a similar number of child marriages were prevented before they were solemnized by the authorities in these states. However, few FIRs have been registered against those involved in solemnizing and performing such marriages under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006.
When the PIL applicant NGO “Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action” through its counsel said that prosecution of the offenders is scarce and that the states have not provided details about the status of cases registered against perpetrators of child marriages, the court agreed with the ASG that education, conscience and socio-economic welfare measures would likely be more effective in eradicating this social evil.
The petitioner also complained that in most states, the duties of Child Marriage Prevention Officers (CMPOs) are delegated to District Magistrates and other officials and advocated for creation of dedicated officers for the post. Bhati said that the District Magistrates/SDMs/BDOs/Tehsildars have been given additional responsibility for CMPOs as their convictions carry weight with the public.
The court reserved its verdict in the case and said it would examine what directions and guidelines the court could issue to support the efforts of the Union and state governments to eradicate this social evil.