The Rajasthan High Court held panchs and sarpanchs responsible for their failure to stop child marriages throughout the state on Wednesday, considering Akshaya Tritiya, an auspicious day for marriages that falls on 10th May 2024.
The petitioners gave the High Court a “masked list” that contained information about child marriages that were set to take place shortly. The list includes information on 57 child marriage events, 46 of which have not yet been formally sealed or will be on Akshaya Teej or Tritiya. The rest of them have been already held.
The division bench, which was made up of Justices Pankaj Bhandari and Shubha Mehta, heard the PIL and requested a report from the child marriage prohibition officers regarding the number of child marriages that had occurred in their jurisdiction and the steps taken to stop them.
In support of the petitioners, senior attorney RP Singh used data from the National Family Health Survey 5, which indicated that 25.4% of women in the state’s 20-24 age bracket were married before turning 18.
Singh told the court that the percentage was 15.1% in urban regions and 28.3% in rural areas. The court was also informed that 3.7% of the women surveyed in the 15-19 age bracket were already mothers.
The State Government, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the Department of Women and Child Development, the DGP, and the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights are the parties involved in this case.
