RIGHTS OF ADOLESCENTS

Child Marriage

Forum for Fact Finding Documentation and Advocacy v. Union of India and others (Supreme Court of India)
In April 2003, a public interest lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of India requesting the Court to order the central government and 11 state governments to take immediate steps to prevent child marriages from taking place. Legal representation in this case has been provided by the Human Rights Law Network, which has requested technical assistance from the Center in the form of comparative data on legal and policy measures undertaken by governments to address early marriage.

The petition calls for strict enforcement of the existing Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929; punishments for officials who fail to stop such marriages from taking place; compensation for girl children whose marriages are solemnized; and the launching of criminal prosecutions by the state. It also requests the Court to order the national and state governments to launch official campaigns against child marriage and to make birth and marriage registration mandatory.

To learn more about reproductive rights in India, read Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive Lives, South Asia.

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