A girl who was married off virtually out of the crib to another minor 19 years ago, won a major victory Tuesday when a Jodhpur court annulled the wedding Tuesday. When she was only 11 months old, Santa, daughter of construction worker Padmaram Meghwawas, married off to nine-year-old Sanvalram in 1996. Earlier this year, when Santa realised her parents' folly, she refused to honour the child marriage by deciding not to move to her husband's house. However, the girl's bold stance led the village caste panchayat to slap a fine of Rs 16 lakh on her family, following which she approached a NGO for help. "We counselled the so called 'groom' and his family. Later, the panchayat also agreed and Sanvalram appeared before the court and agreed to the annulment," said Kriti Bharti, the activist who helped Santa through the case. On Tuesday, judge Prthviraj Sharma of the family court no. 1 annulled the marriage. Santa burst into tears of joy when the verdict was delivered. "I now want to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher," she said.
