President's assent to Haryana's law declaring child marriages void

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 27

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to a legislation of Haryana, which was enacted to consider child marriage “void ab initio” (having no legal effect from inception), said officials in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), adding that this would now make a marital relationship between a man and a girl aged between 15 and 18 illegal.

Enacted in 2020

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2020, was enacted and the legislation has now received the presidential assent. Official, ministry of home affairs

The state had enacted “The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2020”, following a Supreme Court ruling. It had declared that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, being a special law, prevails over the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sex with a minor wife aged between 15 and 18 is arbitrary and violative of the Constitution.

“Accordingly, the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2020, was enacted and the legislation has now received the presidential assent,” an official in the MHA said.

The President has also given her assent to the Registration (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Bill, 2021 to further amend the Registration Act, 1908, to prevent the registration of forged documents and impersonation and to cancel registrations done on the basis of forged documents.

Following the enactment of the Bill, the registrar could issue a show-cause notice, asking why a registration shall not be cancelled and on a consideration of the reply, may cancel the registration and enter the cancellation in the relevant books and indices.

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