The Uttarakhand High Court has raised serious concern over the growing trend of underage marriages in the state. A division bench comprising Chief Justice R. Narendhar and Justice Alok Mehra made strong observations during the hearing of a case involving a 19-year-old boy who had married a girl of the same age and sought police protection from her parents.
The court noted that while the right to choose one’s life partner is legally recognized, an increasing number of petitioners in such cases are teenagers who lack the emotional and financial maturity to take on marital responsibilities. It cited multiple instances where the girl was later found to be a minor as claimed by her parents, resulting in the husband being booked under the POCSO Act. In some cases, the girl became a mother, while the boy was imprisoned or the couple separated, leaving the child abandoned.
The bench emphasized that this trend not only affects young lives but also leads to further criminal complications and societal issues.
Key Directives Issued by the Court:
- Secretary of Education, Chandresh Kumar, has been instructed to formulate an awareness plan within two weeks to educate parents and youth about the legal consequences of underage marriages, particularly under the POCSO Act.
- The court directed that this campaign be aggressively implemented through education departments, rural development offices, Anganwadi centres, local administrations, and paralegal volunteers in sensitive regions.
- It also recommended the use of street plays, short films, and similar tools to sensitize adolescents about the implications of early marriage.
The court aims to guide both youth and their families to make informed, lawful decisions and protect minors from life-altering legal and social consequences.
