HC seeks details on appointment, action against Child Marriage Prohibition Officers in Maharashtra

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin M Jamdar and Justice Arif S Doctor was hearing Child Marriage Prohibition Committee, Hadapsar in Pune, and others, through advocates Asim Sarode and Ajinkya Udane, stating that effects of early marriage has devastating consequences for a girl, and in the absence of rules, almost one lakh child marriages take place every year in the state and referring to a news report, claimed that there had been 1,500 instances of child marriages in one district of the state in last two years.

It added that there is a requirement to set up a special juvenile police unit to work in coordination with various authorities. It also sought a system to rescue such victims, cancel the marriage and take penal action against parents.

The court noted that under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Child Marriage Rules, a CPMO was directed to provide regular updates about child marriages which had been prevented or reported. The court sought to know if disciplinary action was taken against the CPMO if he/she failed to discharge duties.

Government Pleader Priyabhushan P Kakade told the bench that the rules had been framed and were notified on October 21, 2022. The court noted that the said rules imposed important duties on the CPMO, who was also given powers to take action against complaints it would receive pertaining to child marriages.

As per the rules, any individual, organisation or educational institution can report about any incident of child marriage, even if it has reason to believe such marriage may happen. The CPMO can conduct an enquiry, record statements, and collect evidence after such a complaint.

The bench noted that the state’s initial affidavit is “silent” on how many CPMO’s are appointed by the state government and whether they have been submitting periodical returns to the state government as per the rules.

The court asked the state government to file an additional affidavit placing on record the number of CPMOs who have not submitted periodical returns and what action is taken against them for non-performance of their duties.

“Considering the important role to be performed by the CPMOs, it is necessary that adequate CPMOs are appointed and strict supervision is conducted as regards the performance of their duties,” it said.

The court asked the government to ensure sufficient CPMO’s are appointed and sought an additional affidavit by the Secretary, State Women and Child Development Department or vetted by him giving the information sought by the court and posted further hearing to August 2.