Lok Sabha Question No. 1226 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Child Marriage Cases
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi, Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil, Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh, Ms. Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1226

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026

## CHILD MARRIAGE CASES

1226.   ADV GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI: SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL: MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE: DR. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry has taken cognizance of the sharp rise in child marriage cases reported in Maharashtra from 2018-19 to 2024-25 and the low conviction rate under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data;
- (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the number of cases reported and the conviction rate during the said period, year-wise along with reasons identified by the Ministry for this mismatch in child marriage cases;
- (c) the details of the steps taken by the Government to control instances of child marriage and increase awareness in said State;
- (d) the details of the 259 districts which have higher rates of child marriage than the national average; and
- (e) the details of the concrete steps taken in these districts by the Ministry to reduce child marriages?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (e):  The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes data on crimes, including  crime  against  women  and  children,  in  its  publication  'Crime  in  India',  which is   available on the website of NCRB https://ncrb.gov.in. The said report is available upto the year 2023. The number of cases of child marriages reported during the last five years in the State of Maharashtra, as per aforesaid report is at Annexure .

'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.  Accordingly,  the  primary  responsibility  for  maintaining  law  and  order,  investigation, prosecution,  conviction  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.  However,  the increase  in  number  of  child  marriage  cases  may  also  be  due  to  improvement  in  reporting mechanisms and increased public awareness.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) has been enacted to prevent and curb child marriages  and  to  take  punitive  action  against  those  associated  with  the  solemnisation  of  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.

Since, the enactment of PCMA, the prevalence of child marriage in the country has reduced to almost half from 47 % in National Family Health Survey -III (NFHS-III) conducted in 2005- 06 to  23.3%  in  NFHS-V  conducted  in  2019-21.  This  shows  that  the  law  has  a  strong  effect  in prevention of child marriages in the country. However, a few States have higher prevalence of child marriage compared to the national average. According to the NFHS-5 data, there are around 259 districts in the country where the rate of child marriage (as reported to NFHS-5 by women aged 20-24 years, who married before the age of 18 years) is higher than the national average is available at https://www.data.gov.in/catalog/national-family-health-survey-5-nfhs-5-indiadistricts-factsheet-data-provisional

The Central Government 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. 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.  The  National  Legal  Services  Authority  with  its  States  and  District  arms  also  creates awareness  about  the  ill-  effects  of  child  marriage.  NALSA  has  issued  a  Standard  Operating Procedure (SOP) to its functionaries for effective prevention of child marriages in coordination with  the  statutory  officers  and  other  authorities.  It  also  has  a  dedicated  helpline  15100  which provides free legal aid to the specified sections of citizens including women and children.

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. In addition, the services of Women Helpline (181), which is integrated with the ERSS are also available round the clock to provide emergency and non- emergency assistance.

The  Government  of  India  launched  the  national  campaign ' Bal  Vivah  Mukt  Bharat  on  27 th November 2024, with the objective of making India 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. The campaign aims to create awareness for prevention of child marriage, enhance involvement of parents, families, and communities, strengthen the role and capacity of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs), encourage timely reporting of child marriage cases, and identify adolescent girls who are school dropouts or at risk of child marriage to ensure their education, skilling, and empowerment.

To commemorate the success of the campaign and further intensify efforts, a 100 Days Special Campaign under Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat was launched on 4 th  December 2025 to mobilise all stakeholders in a structured and time-bound manner. The 100 Days Special Campaign focuses on targeted outreach to institutions, community leaders and service provider, along with mandatory uploading of details of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) on the BVMB Portal.

The campaign follows a spell-wise thematic implementation plan. Spell -I (27 th  November, 2025 to 31st December, 2025) focuses on sensitisation activities in schools, colleges and universities through debates, essay competitions and pledge ceremonies. Spell -II  (1 st January, 2026 to 31 st January,  2026)  focuses  on  engagement  with  religious  institutions  and  marriage-related  service providers, including temples, mosques, caterers, tent houses and DJs, to discourage child marriage and  display  IEC  materials.  Spell -III  (1 st February,  2026  to  8 th March,  2026)  focuses  on mobilisation of Gram Panchayats and Municipal Wards for passing resolutions declaring their jurisdictions as child-marriage-free.

A dedicated digital platform, the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat portal (https://stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in), facilitates reporting of child marriage incidents, dissemination  of  information,  and  registration  of  pledges.  Citizens,  institutions,  and  public representatives can take the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat pledge on the dedicated portal as well as through the MyGov portal, promoting wide participation. As on date, awareness programmes have reached over 6 crore citizens, and more than 28 lakh pledges against child marriage have been registered on the portal, reflecting strong community engagement and active participation across the country. The BVMB portal serves as a centralised repository of more than 60,700 CMPOs across States and Union Territories, providing  citizens with an efficient  reporting mechanism, where early reporting enables timely intervention to prevent child marriages.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  TO  (E)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1226 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026 REGARDING 'CHILD MARRIAGE CASES'.

DETAILS OF CHILD MARRIAGE CASES REPORTED IN THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA DURING THE YEARS 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 2022 AND 2023.

| SL   | Years   | Prohibition of Child Marriage Act   | Prohibition of Child Marriage Act   | Prohibition of Child Marriage Act   | Prohibition of Child Marriage Act   | Prohibition of Child Marriage Act   |
|------|---------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| SL   | Years   | CR                                  | CCS                                 | CTC                                 | CON                                 | CVR                                 |
| 1    | 2018    | 13                                  | 12                                  | 5                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |
| 2    | 2019    | 20                                  | 12                                  | 5                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |
| 3    | 2020    | 50                                  | 32                                  | 2                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |
| 4    | 2021    | 82                                  | 72                                  | 7                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |
| 5    | 2022    | 99                                  | 89                                  | 5                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |
| 6    | 2023    | 93                                  | 86                                  | 9                                   | 0                                   | 0.0                                 |

Cases Registered (CR), Cases Chargesheeted (CCS), Cases in which Trials Completed (CTC), Cases Convicted (CON) and Conviction Rate (CVR) under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act under Crime against Children in Maharashtra during 2018-2023

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