Child marriage cases in state on a decline since 2019: RS Data

Gandhinagar: Information provided by the Union govt during the ongoing budget session of Parliament stated that Gujarat ranks 13th among all states and Union Territories (UTs) in terms of registration of cases under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA).
While the number of cases under the PCMA in Gujarat rose from 8 in 2018 to 20 in 2019, there was a decline in cases registered under the Act in the three subsequent years.
Based on a question by MP Rajni Patil in the Rajya Sabha, union minister of state (MoS) for women and child development (WCD) provided details of cases registered in states and UTs for a period of five years between 2018 and 2022.
In 2022, Gujarat ranked behind Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal in the number of cases registered under the PCMA.
During the same year, there were 11 states which did not register even a single case of child marriage under the PCMA. Karnataka with 215 cases, Assam with 163, Tamil Nadu with 155, West Bengal with 121, and Maharashtra with 99 cases constituted the top five states which registered the highest number of cases under PCMA in 2022.
In the written reply, the Union MoS for WCD said that the PCM Act was enacted to curb child marriages and to take punitive action against those associated with child marriages, and agencies of states and Union Territories enforce the Act. In addition, the govt of India introduced Child Helpline with short code 1098, a toll-free telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis, the reply said.
Under the campaign against child marriage, a portal — stopchildmarriage.wcd.gov.in — was launched to support the states and Union Territories in raising awareness against child marriage and for effective reporting and prevention of incidences of child marriage, the minister said in the reply.
Head: Steady decline
Year Cases registered under PCMA
2018 8
2019 20
2020 15
2021 12
2022 9
(Source: Union Govt in RS)