Lok Sabha Question No. 5540 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Child Marriages in the Country
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. Kadiyam Kavya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 5540

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2025

## CHILD MARRIAGES IN THE COUNTRY

## 5540. DR. KADIYAM KAVYA:

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

- (a) the number of reported cases of child marriage in the country during the last three years, Statewise;
- (b) the  details  of  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  child  marriages  and  support victims of child marriage;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to launch any new schemes or programmes to address the issue of child marriage, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the measures being taken by the Government to increase awareness about the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and to enforce its provisions effectively?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a): The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the data on the number of cases of child marriage registered under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 in its publication 'Crime in India'. The said report is available upto the year 2022 - Crime Head Wise and State/  UT-wise. As per information available with NCRB, the number of cases registered under PCMA during the last three years i.e 2020, 2021 and 2022 are 785, 1050 and 1002 respectively. The State wise details of child marriage cases registered under PCMA during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 is at Annexure.

(b) to (d): 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens, investigation and prosecution of crime against women and children including prohibition of child marriages, rests with the respective State Governments and UT Administrations; they are competent to deal with such offenses/ criminal acts.

Government has enacted PCMA to curb child marriages and to take punitive action against those associated with the child marriages. Section 16 of the PCMA authorises the State Government to appoint for the whole State, or such part thereof as may be specified, an officer or officers to be known as the 'Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO)' having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification. This section also specifies the functions to be discharged by CMPOs, which include preventing solemnisation of child marriages by taking such action as they may deem fit; to collect evidence for the effective prosecution of persons contravening the provisions of the Act; to advise the individuals or counsel the residents of the locality not to indulge in promoting, helping, aiding or allowing the solemnisation of child marriages; to create awareness about the ill effects of child marriages; and to sensitize the community on the issue of child marriages. All these authorities  function  under  the  direct  administrative  control  and  supervision  of  respective  State Governments and UT Administrations. As such, implementation of the provisions of the Act lies with them.

The Central Government at its level undertakes awareness drives, media campaigns and outreach programs and issues advisories to the States and UTs from time to time to highlight evil effects of this practice. The Ministry has also been writing to all States and UTs to increase the number of CMPOs,  as  presence  of  Statutory  Officer  at  local  levels  results  in  even  more  effective  public engagement on the subject and prevention of solemnisation of child marriage. Further, the Ministry of  Women and Child Development (MWCD) implements the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) component under the umbrella scheme of 'Mission Shakti', wherein creation of awareness on matters pertaining  to  gender  equality  and  discouraging  child  marriage  is  an  important  focus  area.  The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also undertakes awareness programs and consultations with stakeholders from time to time in this regard. In addition, Government of India  has  introduced  Child  Helpline  with  short  code  1098,  a  toll-free  24X7X365  telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis which responds with suitable interventions to call for any form of assistance which a child requires, including for prevention of child marriages, in coordination with police, CMPOs, District Child Protection Units etc. The Child Helpline has also been integrated with Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) to provide for 24x7x365 emergency response, resources and services.

The  Central  Government  launched  'Bal  Vivah  Mukt  Bharat'  campaign  on  27 th November  2024 which focuses on making the country child marriage free. It is one of the most important imperatives to promote education, skilling, enterprise and entrepreneurship among girls and women to realise the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' through 'whole of government' and 'whole of society' approach. Under the campaign, a portal 'https://stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in' has been launched to support the States and UTs in raising awareness against child marriage and for effective reporting and prevention of incidences of child marriage. The portal also has facility to provide information to citizens about Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) of all States and UTs.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UN-  STARRED QUESTION NO. 5540 FOR ANSWER ON 04.04.2025 ASKED BY DR. KADIYAM KAVYA REGARDING 'CHILD MARRIAGES IN THE COUNTRY'

The  State/  UT-wise  details  of  child  marriage  cases  registered under  The  Prohibition  of  Child  Marriage  Act (PCMA), 2006 during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

| SL                           |   State/UT |   2020 2021 |   2022 |
|------------------------------|------------|-------------|--------|
| 1 Andhra Pradesh             |         32 |          19 |     26 |
| 2 Arunachal Pradesh          |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 3 Assam                      |        138 |         155 |    163 |
| 4 Bihar                      |          5 |          11 |     13 |
| 5 Chhattisgarh               |          1 |           0 |      0 |
| 6 Goa                        |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 7 Gujarat                    |         15 |          12 |      9 |
| 8 Haryana                    |         33 |          33 |     37 |
| 9 Himachal Pradesh           |          5 |           5 |      4 |
| 10 Jharkhand                 |          3 |           4 |      5 |
| 11 Karnataka                 |        184 |         273 |    215 |
| 12 Kerala                    |          8 |          12 |      6 |
| 13 Madhya Pradesh            |          5 |           4 |      7 |
| 14 Maharashtra               |         50 |          82 |     99 |
| 15 Manipur                   |          0 |           2 |      1 |
| 16 Meghalaya                 |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 17 Mizoram                   |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 18 Nagaland                  |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 19 Odisha                    |         24 |          64 |     46 |
| 20 Punjab                    |         13 |           8 |      4 |
| 21 Rajasthan                 |          3 |          11 |     10 |
| 22 Sikkim                    |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 23 Tamil Nadu                |         77 |         169 |    155 |
| 24 Telangana                 |         60 |          57 |     53 |
| 25 Tripura                   |          4 |           1 |      2 |
| 26 Uttar Pradesh             |         12 |           6 |     17 |
| 27 Uttarakhand               |          9 |          12 |      6 |
| 28 West Bengal               |         98 |         105 |    121 |
| TOTAL STATE(S)               |        779 |        1045 |    999 |
| 29A&N Islands                |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 30 Chandigarh                |          1 |           0 |      0 |
| 31D&N Haveli and Daman &Diu+ |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 32 Delhi                     |          4 |           2 |      1 |
| 33 Jammu &Kashmir*           |          1 |           2 |      2 |
| 34 Ladakh                    |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 35 Lakshadweep               |          0 |           0 |      0 |
| 36 Puducherry                |          0 |           1 |      0 |
| TOTAL UT(S)                  |          6 |           5 |      3 |
| TOTAL (ALL INDIA)            |        785 |        1050 |   1002 |

Source: Crime in India

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