Men Marry Girls Aged Below 14 Years To Book Under POCSO Act 2012

Assam CM Hemant Biswa has informed about the POCSO Act of 2012. Marrying a child (under 18) criminalizes sex between an underage child and an adult.

According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Assam government has decided to file complaints under the POCSO Act against men who marry minor girls in the state. 

He added that 31% of weddings performed in the state were to people under the legal marriage age, citing child marriage as the main cause of the high mother and infant death rate in the state.

“The state will be subject to a harsh crackdown on child marriage. The POCSO Act would be used to prosecute those who marry girls under the age of 14 “the CM declared on Monday during a news conference following the cabinet meeting.

The POCSO Act of 2012 criminalizes sex between a minor and an adult and defines a child as a person under the age of 18. 

According to the chief minister, proceedings will be filed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 if the bride is between the ages of 14 and 18.

Women must be 18 years old and men must be 21 years old to get married legally.

The Chief Minister of Assam Hemant Biswa Sarma has said,

“The officers charged with preventing child marriage in the state’s villages will also be the Panchayat Secretaries. 

Therefore, going forward, a complaint regarding a minor marriage shall be made to the village’s Panchayat Secretary.”

The statement and the warnings have come amid the occasion of National Girl Child Day 2023, which is celebrated on 24th January every year. 

The cases of marrying girls under the age of 18, is increasing rapidly in some of the regions. It can also be involved under the crime of love jihad. Thus the state government has decided to act against this crime with major actions.