Assam: Men marrying girls below 14 yrs to be booked under POCSO Act

Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality, and health professionals link it with the child marriage

January 24, 2023

In Assam, men who marry girls below 14 will face child sex abuse case

Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years of age under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting, he said.

Sarma also said that police have been ordered to launch a state-wide crackdown against child marriage.

While briefing reporters about the cabinet decisions, Sarma said that Assam has an average of 31 percent of marriages in the “prohibited age“.

The state has a quite high rate of maternal and infant mortality, and health professionals link it with child marriage. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 will be used to prosecute men who marry girls between the ages of 14 and 18 and required legal action would be taken against them, he said.

Sarma said, “Every village will have a Child Protection Officer designated, and the Gram Panchayat Secretary would be responsible for reporting any child marriages that occur there.”

[With Inputs from IANS]

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