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In a recent case filed by the Punaranjani Charitable Trust and several others against the circular of the local authorities, the Honourable Bench of Kerala High Court comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice AK Jayasankaran upheld the circular issued by the local authorities which required the registration of child marriages.
The Court said that the registration of child marriages would act as evidence of the marriage, and there would be better transparency in penalising the offenders under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The petitioner contended that the registration of such marriage defeats the very objective of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, and the same encouraged the solemnisation of marriage.
Nevertheless, the court said that the role of Marriage Registration Officer was not to prevent the marriage but solemnize it. Relying on Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, the Court said that non-registration of marriage greatly affects women; and therefore, registration of child marriage would be evidence to rebut the presumption of marriage. In addition to this, the bench also observed that the purpose of the act remains undefeated because a child marriage could be declared as void ab initio only under the circumstances mentioned under section 12 and 14 of the Act.
The Court, additionally, observed that the state should, in order to create awareness about the evilness of child marriage, enable the Marriage Prohibition Officer to perform his functions as per section 16 of the Prohibition Act, 2006. The Prohibition Officer must also intervene in cases of child marriages by bringing such cases before the Judicial Magistrate for having appropriate orders passed under section 13 and 14 of the Prohibition Act, 2006.
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