All districts alerted to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya

Bhopal: All districts have been alerted to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya on May 13. District collectors have been directed to ensure strict action to prevent child marriages. The administration will keep a close watch over mass marriage functions to be held on this day. On Akha Teej, some child marriages are also solemnised in the garb of mass marriages.

The State Government is conducting Lado Abhiyan to prevent child marriages throughout the year. The government has asked the collectors to make arrangements in their respective districts to ensure that no child marriage takes place in any case. For this, cooperation of those influential people/groups should be sought who play important role in marriage programmes. Effective publicity should be ensured about the message to common people regarding disadvantages of marriage at tender age. Collectors have also been directed to seek media’s assistance in this.
The Women & Child Development Department has chalked out Lado Abhiyan Action Plan for preventing child marriages. The department has directed all its district offices to implement the action plan strictly. Cooperation of public representatives, social workers, NGOs etc has also been sought. Large-scale initiative has also been taken to dissuade parents from marrying off their under-age children.
Strict law: Child marriage is illegal as per Child Marriage Prevention Act-1929. Jail term or fine or both can be imposed under the Act. Act provides for legal punishment for a male entering into wedlock before attaining age of 21 years. It lays down upto 15 days’ simple jail term if a male marries after 18 years and below 21 years of age or a fine upto Rs. one lakh may be imposed or both. If a male above 21 years of age marries a ‘child’, then he may have to undergo upto three months’ simple imprisonment and a fine will also be imposed on him. There is a provision in Section 5 for punishment to those organising child marriage. According to it, anyone organising, conducting or hosting a child marriage, until he or she proves that he or she had reason to believe that it was not a child marriage, will be liable to jail term of more than three months and fine.
The Act provides for penal action against parents or guardians involved in child marriage, any parent or guardian or any other person looking after a an adult will be liable to three months’ simple imprisonment and fine if he or she motivates or indulges in any other activity for child marriage or organises it or allows it or fails to prevent it. However, no woman will be punished with jail term.