Lok Sabha Question No. 1788 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-10
Subject: Child Marriages
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO (AVNTHI), PANKAJ CHOWDHARY, ASHWINI KUMAR, CH. MALLA REDDY, SONA RAM CHOUDHARY, BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1788

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2017

## CHILD MARRIAGES

## 1788.   SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO(AVANTHI):

SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY: SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR: SHRI CH. MALLA REDDY: COL. SONARAM CHOUDHARY: DR. BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)       whether the Government has taken cognizance of prevalence of child marriages in various parts of the country despite relevant Acts/provisions in this regard;
- (b)       if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor indicating the number of cases registered and offenders punished under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 during each of the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year,  State/UT-wise  along  with  the  States  in  which child marriages are rampant;
- (c)      whether the Government proposes to review/amend the existing Act and efficacy of the existing mechanisms/ provisions to plug the loopholes so as to prevent child marriages in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)     whether the Government has issued any fresh directions/guidelines to the States/UTs in this regard; and
- (e)      if so, the details thereof along with the other measures taken by the Government to prevent child marriages in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI KRISHANA RAJ)

- (a)       to (e)    As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total number of  222, 280 and 293  cases have been registered under the  Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 in the year 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. The States/UTs wise details of number of cases registered under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 during 2013 to  2015  are  annexed.    The  reasons  for  child  marriage  are  complex  and  it  is  mind  set problem  which  considers  girl  child  as  a  burden.  Social  customs,  tradition,  illiteracy, poverty, low status of women in society, lack of awareness about consequences of child marriage are some of the other reasons that encourage the practice of child marriage.

The  Government  of  India  has  enacted  the  Prohibition  of  Child  Marriage  Act,  2006  in order to prohibit child marriages rather than only restraining them. The States/UTs from time to time are being regularly pursued for effective implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The practice of Child Marriages is a social evil perpetuated social customs, tradition, illiteracy, poverty, low status of women in society and lack of awareness.  These  issues  cannot  be  tackled  by  legislative  interventions  alone.  This  is  a continuous process and Government undertakes media campaigns and outreach programmes to address this.

Annexure referred to in reply to Part (a) &(b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question  No. 1788 for 10.03.2017 regarding Child Marriage.

## No. of Cases Registered (CR) under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 during last three year.

| S.No.   | State/UT          | 2013   |   2014 |   2015 |
|---------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    | 16     |     16 |     15 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 3       | Assam             | 1      |      4 |     14 |
| 4       | Bihar             | 1      |     10 |      0 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      | 1      |      2 |      6 |
| 6       | Goa               | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 7       | Gujarat           | 12     |     16 |      9 |
| 8       | Haryana           | 17     |     15 |     14 |
| 9       | Himachal Pradesh  | 2      |      4 |      1 |
| 10      | Jammu &Kashmir    | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 11      | Jharkhand         | 1      |      1 |      1 |
| 12      | Karnataka         | 26     |     44 |     35 |
| 13      | Kerala            | 11     |     19 |     13 |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh    | 6      |     15 |      9 |
| 15      | Maharashtra       | 16     |     14 |     24 |
| 16      | Manipur           | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 17      | Meghalaya         | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 18      | Mizoram           | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 19      | Nagaland          | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 20      | Odisha            | 0      |      0 |      1 |
| 21      | Punjab            | 0      |      2 |      5 |
| 22      | Rajasthan         | 5      |      5 |      6 |
| 23      | Sikkim            | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu        | 56     |     47 |     77 |
| 25      | Telangana         | -      |     13 |     15 |
| 26      | Tripura           | 1      |      1 |      2 |
| 27      | Uttar Pradesh     | 5      |     10 |      4 |
| 28      | Uttarakhand       | 0      |      0 |      1 |
| 29      | West Bengal       | 43     |     37 |     40 |
| 30      | A &NIslands       | 0      |      0 |      1 |
| 31      | Chandigarh        | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 32      | D &NHaveli        | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 33      | Daman &Diu        | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 34      | Delhi             | 1      |      2 |      0 |
| 35      | Lakshadweep       | 0      |      0 |      0 |
| 36      | Puducherry        | 1      |      3 |      0 |
|         | Total             | 222    |    280 |    293 |

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