Child Marriage Act: UP, Meghalaya, Nagaland yet to set rules, says Maneka Gandhi

Three states -Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland - are yet to frame rules for implementing the provisions of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 authorises state governments to frame rules as envisaged under the Act.

Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland have not framed rules for carrying out the provisions of the Act, Maneka said in a written reply in the House.

Meghalaya and Nagaland have not yet framed the rules as child marriage is not in prevalence, but they have adopted the Act, she said.

The Women and Child Development Ministry seeks to amend Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 under which a child marriage is only voidable at the option of the contracting parties.

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Child marriages are being permitted in the country, but can be annulled if a case is filed in a district court by either of the two contracting parties within two years of becoming an adult, or through a guardian in case of minors.

In India, the legal age for marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men.

In 2015 and 2016, a total of 619 cases of child marriage were recorded under the PCMA. The highest number of such cases during the period was 132 in Tamil Nadu, Maneka said.