CHILD Protection & Rights > Child Protection Issues.

International and National Framework on Child Marriage

International Framework

Different societies have different perceptions of childhood, but most governments have committed through the UN CRC to ensure the overall protection of children and young people under 18 and to promote their full development. Child Marriage harms them and is consequently in opposition with the provision of the UN CRC.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 16.

Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962)

Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1965)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) Article 16.

National Framework
In India, efforts to address child marriage date back to 1929 when social reformers decided to combat it through a law then called the Sharda Act. Post-independence, the Government of India enacted the Child Marriage Restraint Act to stop such marriages from taking place. Marriages before the valid age of 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys are termed as child marriage under this law.

The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 defines a child as a male below 21 years of age and a female below 18 years of age (Section 2(a)).
Under this Act several persons can be punished for allowing, contracting, performing or being involved in a child marriage. They are as follows:

• A male who contracts child marriage if he is over 18 years and below 21 years of age shall be punished with simple imprisonment which may extend up to 15 days or with fine which may extend up to Rs. 1000 or both (Section 3).

• A male who contracts child marriage if he is over 21 years of age shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to 3 months and with fine (Section 4).

• A person who performs or conducts the child marriage, unless he can prove he had no reason to believe it was a child marriage, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend up to 3 months and with fine (Section 5).

• The parent or guardian of the child who permits, negligently fails, or does any act to, promote such child marriage can be punished (Section 6).

Taking into account the shortcomings in the existing Child Marriage Restraint Act and its implementation, the Government proposed an improved legislation:

The Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The major provisions of the new Act include:
- Every child marriage shall be voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage;
- The Court while granting a decree of nullity shall make an order directing the parties, parents and guardians to return the money, valuables, ornaments and other gifts received;
- The Court may also make an interim or final order directing the male contracting party to the child marriage or parents or guardian to pay maintenance to the female contracting party to the marriage and for her residence until her remarriage;
- The Court shall make an appropriate order for the custody and the maintenance of the children of child marriages;
- Notwithstanding that a child marriage has been annulled, every child of such marriage shall be deemed to be a legitimate child for all purposes;
- Child marriages to be void in certain circumstances like minor being sold for the purpose of marriage, minor after being married is sold or trafficked or used for immoral purposes, etc.;
- Enhancement in punishments for male adults marrying a child and persons performing, abetting, promoting, attending etc. a child marriage with imprisonment up to two years and fine up to one lakh rupees;
- States to appoint Child Marriage Prohibition Officers whose duties include prevention of solemnization of child marriages, collection of evidence for effective prosecution, creating awareness and sensitization of the community etc.

The National Plan of Action for Children (NPA), 2005 aims at eliminating child marriages by 2010.