Punjab and Haryana High Court lists five rules to curb child marriage

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 28

Nearly 14 years after the enactment of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued five commandments to prevent minors from tying the knot.

These include modification of the marriage certificate and directions to heads of all religious places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to maintain a proper register of weddings. Periodic checking of records by the police has also been ordered.

Once the directions are in place, the certificate, apart from the couple’s photograph, will “strictly” carry the description of supporting documents such as Aadhaar card, voter’s ID, matriculation certificate and birth certificate.

The directions came after Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan, while taking up a protection matter filed by a runaway couple, took cognisance of a “large number” of religious places holding child marriages without maintaining record. It ordered heads to produce the register with counter file every three months/quarters of year before the SHO concerned. It would be returned after verification of age. The SHO would be liable for disciplinary action in case of any violation of the directions.