Rajasthan register marriage bill under scrutiny

JAIPUR: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will examine the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021 passed by the assembly despite opposition last week. The bill seeks to register child marriages.
The commission might take legal course if it finds the bill going against child issues. NCPCR officials claimed they were already facing challenges in preventing child marriages and with this amendment, they would have another conflict at their hands.Law experts claimed that while the amendment would safeguard legal rights of married minors and their children, the government needs to clarify about actions it would take against persons solemnising child marriages.

People involved in preventing child marriages said implementation of laws need to be stressed to curb social evil; amendment in itself does not mean people will register child marriages since there is no penalty provision if a person, including an adult, does not get the marriage registered.
NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said, “Our legal team is studying this amendment. After reading it, I found that this will make the situation more difficult for us when it comes to prevention of child marriages.There is already no concept of preventive FIR in such cases and now when we start registering child marriages, then it goes against the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.We will study it in detail and go to court if required.”
Section 8 of Marriage Registration Act provides that if parties to the marriage have not completed the age of marriage, the parents or guardians shall be held responsible to submit the application within a period of 30 days.
However, activists who have been working in this field for decades claimed that this amendment has undone their years of work. Kriti Bharti, rehabilitation psychologist and managing trustee of Saarthi Trust who has been instrumental in getting 43 child marriages annulled said, “This is the darkest moment for me as while the government claims that they are trying to make the process of annulment simpler through this amendment, they have in fact complicated it further. If registration does not mean validation, then what does it really mean? No activist, no legal sources or victims of child marriages were consulted before this amendment was passed and now it will just lead to more challenges. Child marriage is a cognizable offence but we are giving it validation.”
The government had clarified that registration of a minor’s marriage does not mean that it had become legal and it was for the officials to initiate action against violators.
Giving an holistic view of the amendment, Ramakanta Satapathy, manager, child protection, Save The Children said, “Marriage registration was made compulsory over a decade ago and possibly this amendment is for safe guarding the rights of the children. However,the government should clearly state as to the action they will take against those persons who solemnise child marriages.”