Supreme Court roadmap to stop child marriages - special courts, empowering magistrates, dedicated police

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a slew of guidelines to ensure that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 (PCMA) achieves its objective. [Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action and anr v Union of India and Ors].

A Bench led of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra held that the law prohibiting child marriages should be tailored to suit different communities and there should be a community-driven approach while implementing the law to ensure its success.

Pertinently, the Court laid out a detailed roadmap to eradicate child marriages.

This included setting up special courts to hear cases involving child marriages, empowering magistrates to pass injunction orders against child marriages and formation of dedicated police units to prevent such marriages.

The judgment came in a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the implementation of PCMA.

The petitioner-NGO contended that the Act was not being implemented in letter and spirit. The top court had sought the response of the Union government in the matter in April 2018 and reserved its verdict on July 10 this year.

Below is a comprehensive outline of the Court's recommendations.

Appointment and Accountability of CMPOs: Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) must focus exclusively on child marriage duties, without additional responsibilities that may hinder their effectiveness.

District-Level Responsibility: District authorities, especially Collectors and Magistrates, must lead prevention efforts and oversee enforcement, ensuring swift action on child marriage cases and holding CMPOs accountable for non-performance.

Specialized Police Unit: A dedicated police unit should handle child marriage cases, working closely with CMPOs to prevent marriages and ensure timely investigation and prosecution.

Special Child Marriage Prohibition Unit: In high-prevalence areas, specialized units should monitor, report and intervene in child marriage cases, collaborating with NGOs and community leaders to track and prevent incidents in real-time.

Code of Conduct: A code of conduct should be developed for local officers, including CMPOs and police, outlining their responsibilities and guidelines for proactive intervention.

Empowering Magistrates to take suo motu action and issue preventive injunctions: Magistrates should issue injunctions against the solemnization of child marriages.

Special Child Marriage Courts: The establishment of special courts dedicated to hearing child marriage cases is recommended. These courts should fast-track cases to ensure swift justice, minimizing delays that could further harm minors.

Mandatory action against neglectful public servants: The Court directed that strict disciplinary and legal action be taken against any public servant found to be in deliberate neglect of duty concerning child marriage cases within their jurisdiction.

Annual Action Plans and Community-Centric Capacity Building: States and Union Territories (UTs) should formulate annual action plans with key performance indicators (KPIs) that consider local cultural and social factors.

These plans should set measurable goals aimed at addressing specific community beliefs and practices linked to child marriage.

Additionally, regular orientation programs, seminars and workshops should be conducted for stakeholders, including Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs), local government representatives, NGOs and educators, to enhance collaboration in preventing child marriages.

Adoption of the Child Marriage Free Village Initiative: Inspired by the "Open Defecation Free Village" model under the Swachh Bharat Mission, a “Child Marriage Free Village” initiative has been recommended.

This initiative will mobilize local communities to collectively discourage child marriages with the involvement of panchayats in monitoring and promoting "Child Marriage Free" certifications for villages and panchayats.

A major focus should be on increasing public awareness about the negative impacts of child marriage. The Court suggested that government agencies should work with NGOs and media outlets to spread awareness about the harmful effects of child marriage on girls' education, health and rights. These campaigns should particularly target rural and economically backward areas where child marriage is more prevalent.

Training for community health workers and educators: All States and UTs should impart specialized training to Anganwadi Workers (AWW), Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives (ANM), and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) to enhance their role in the prevention of child marriage through active community engagement.

Training for law enforcement and judicial officers: Police officers, particularly those in the Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU), must undergo training focused on the legal aspects of the PCMA, child rights and sensitivity towards cases involving minors.

Capacity building for teachers and school administrators: Teachers and school administrators should be trained to recognize signs of potential child marriage and engage with students regarding their rights and the importance of education.

Empowerment of local leaders and community influencers: Training programs should be designed for local leaders, including members of panchayati raj Institutions and community influencers, focusing on their critical role in preventing child marriage.

Engagement with non-governmental organizations (NGOs): Collaborations with NGOs that focus on women's rights and child protection should be established to train volunteers and staff on child marriage prevention.

Training for health care providers: Healthcare providers including doctors and counsellors should be trained to address the specific health risks associated with child marriage.

Educational incentives and scholarships: The Ministry of Women and Child Development should consider the viability of implementing comprehensive educational incentive programs specifically targeted at girls about the risks of child marriage.

Social welfare programmes: The Ministry should also consider developing and implementing social welfare programs to assist families about risks of child marriage.

Convergence and continuity of services: The Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs should designate an appropriate authority to ensure the convergence of services across various government departments and agencies to create a cohesive support system for vulnerable and at-risk communities.

Development of Standard Operating Procedures: .The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) should formulate a Standard Operating Procedure that provides comprehensive guidelines for legal support services and long-term rehabilitation plans related for the prevention, protection and rehabilitation of victims of child marriage for lawyers and law-enforcement officers.

Role of panchayats and local Leaders: All panchayats, sarpanchs and local leaders must complete a training program on child marriage prevention and reporting within three months. They must report any suspected child marriages within 48 hours of awareness to relevant authorities and actively participate in community awareness programs to educate families on the legal consequences of child marriage and promote alternative practices to early marriage.

Individual care plans for at-risk girls: State authorities must develop and implement Individual Care Plans (ICP) for at-risk girl children, ensuring compliance with Section 10 of the JJ Act, which mandates individualized care and rehabilitation for children in need of care and protection.

Creation of a Centralized Reporting Portal: The Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the NALSA should establish a designated portal for online reporting of child marriages.

Leveraging Technology for Support Services: Each State and UT should make all endeavours to disseminate information against child marriage across all print, digital and social media – with a focus on regions where child marriages are likely to occur in high numbers.

Technology-driven monitoring of attendance: The Ministry for Women and Child Development, in coordination with the relevant State Ministries, should consider the viability of a technology-driven monitoring system to track daily attendance for school-going girls up to the 12th grade, ensuring compliance with the privacy standards outlined in the Supreme Court judgment in KS Puttaswamy.

Dedicated Annual Budget Allocation: The relevant ministries of the Central government should recommend the allocation of a dedicated yearly budget for each State specifically aimed at preventing child marriage and supporting affected individuals

Juvenile Justice Fund institutionalization: The State governments shoud institutionalize the Juvenile Justice Fund established under Section 105 of the JJ Act. This fund will provide financial assistance in the form of scholarships and stipends specifically for girls at imminent risk of child marriage or whose marriages have been annulled, promoting their educational and social empowerment.

Compensation for girls opting out of marriage: The Ministry of Women and Child Development should consider the viability of providing compensation to girls who opt out of marriage upon reaching the age of majority under the NALSA Victim Compensation Scheme or respective State Victim Compensation Schemes.

Identification and support for at-risk children: Superintendents of Police and Collectors should identify instances of child marriage and monitor children at risk of dropping out of school due to socio-economic challenges or threats of early marriage.

Advocates Mugdha, Kamran Khawja and Satya Mitra appeared for the petitioner-NGO, the Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and Senior Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi with advocates Snidha Mehra, Rajat Nair, Pratyush Shrivastava, Sandeep Kumar Mahapatra and Amrish Kumar Sharma appeared for the Union government.

[Read Judgment]