New Delhi:More than 14,000 child marriages have been prevented across 265 districts in 17 states and Union Territories by civil society, a report by an NGO said.
According to the report by the India Child Protection (ICP) research team which was released by child rights body the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), 59,364 child marriages were prevented with the help of panchayats in 2023-24. The report said the Rajasthan High Court, in one of its judgments, held panchayats accountable for child marriage, which resulted in a significant decline in child marriage cases reported on Akshaya Tritiya.
"Across India, 161 civil society organisations in 265 districts throughout 17 states and Union Territories successfully prevented 14,137 child marriages in 2023-2024 by using legal interventions and prevented 59,364 child marriages with the help of panchayats," the report said. The total number of child marriage cases registered during the last five years (3,863) is less than the number of girl child marriages taking place in a single day (4,442).
On average, only one case of child marriage per district was registered for prosecution in 2022. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that out of 63,513 children who were kidnapped or abducted and recovered in 2022, 15,748 (25 per cent) were kidnapped or abducted for the purpose of either 'marriage' or 'intercourse'. Of this, 15,142 children recovered in 2022 were kidnapped solely for the purpose of marriage.
In 2022, 13,981 cases were reported for the offence of kidnapping of minor girls to compel them for marriage, compared to 11,236 in 2020. This highlights a 24 per cent increase in the number of minor girls being kidnapped or abducted for the purpose of marriage during 2020-22.
In 2022, out of the total 3,563 child marriage cases listed for trial in courts under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, merely 181 cases were successfully concluded in terms of trial completion.
This "slow" disposal rate has resulted in a persistently high pendency rate, which stands at 92 per cent. Despite the fact that there are only 3,365 cases pending, with the current rate of disposal, the country may take 19 years to clear the backlogs as of 2022, it said. The conviction rate in cases filed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act is an area of concern, given its "disheartening" statistics.