Rajasthan
Udaipur Admin Starts Child Marriage-free Campaign, Focus On Legal Action From Start | Jaipur News
Jaipur: The district administration along with NGOs have started a child marriage-free campaign in Udaipur district. Child marriages usually take place in the state during this period, after Akshaya Tritiya and till Peepal Poornima due to several auspicious dates, and many cases go unreported.
Under the campaign, anyone can report cases of child marriage on helpline number 9784399288. The identity of those calling will be kept confidential and they will be given a cash prize of Rs 2,100, said officials.
The district administration that has formed two dedicated teams for this campaign are focusing on getting injunction orders against families involved in child marriages, which ensure that the marriage is null and void from the starting itself. In such cases, the bride and groom do not have to wait till they are adults to take legal action.
One such order was issued for a case of child marriage last week and seven cases of marriages have been stopped in the past week. Meena Sharma, assistant director, Udaipur, for child rights said, “The district administration has started a Child Marriage-Free Udaipur campaign, where focus is on first stopping the marriage and then getting an injunction order issued from the local court, as this will ensure that the marriage doesn’t hold any legal validity from the start itself. A task force and two committees have been formed by the district collector for this and in a week we have stopped seven marriages. Injunction order has been issued in one case and the process is underway for the six other cases.”
Sharma said a control room has been formed for this campaign, where two officials will be present continuously throughout the day.
Shailendra Pandya, former member of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) said, “This is the first time that an injunction order has been issued in the Udaipur district under Section 13(1) of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006 with the legal help and guidance of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.”
Under the campaign, anyone can report cases of child marriage on helpline number 9784399288. The identity of those calling will be kept confidential and they will be given a cash prize of Rs 2,100, said officials.
The district administration that has formed two dedicated teams for this campaign are focusing on getting injunction orders against families involved in child marriages, which ensure that the marriage is null and void from the starting itself. In such cases, the bride and groom do not have to wait till they are adults to take legal action.
One such order was issued for a case of child marriage last week and seven cases of marriages have been stopped in the past week. Meena Sharma, assistant director, Udaipur, for child rights said, “The district administration has started a Child Marriage-Free Udaipur campaign, where focus is on first stopping the marriage and then getting an injunction order issued from the local court, as this will ensure that the marriage doesn’t hold any legal validity from the start itself. A task force and two committees have been formed by the district collector for this and in a week we have stopped seven marriages. Injunction order has been issued in one case and the process is underway for the six other cases.”
Sharma said a control room has been formed for this campaign, where two officials will be present continuously throughout the day.
Shailendra Pandya, former member of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) said, “This is the first time that an injunction order has been issued in the Udaipur district under Section 13(1) of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006 with the legal help and guidance of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.”
