Lodge FIRs against child marriages: NCPCR writes to West Bengal DGP over inaction

NCPCR has now directed that FIRs be lodged in all cases in next 10 days

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has written to the West Bengal Director General of Police after the principal secretary of the state, appearing in a summon by the child rights body, has said that in over 1,600 cases of child marriage in the state, no FIRs were registered. NCPCR has now directed that FIRs be lodged in all the cases in the next 10 days.

NCPCR chief Priyank Kanungo said that, as part of its drive to curb child marriages, the Commission has been collecting district-wise information from the Women and Child Development Departments of states and UTs on their intervention in cases of child marriage. In this connection, he added, the NCPCR organised a virtual meeting of all DCs in December last year but officials from West Bengal did not join.

WB officials skipped consequent meetings in February and in March this year, too, after which the principal secretary was summoned. In the meeting, the principal secretary said that the information on the total number of FIRs was not available to them since the Bengal police were yet to share the data.

Also Read | Assam: 4,670 child marriages reported in about two years, 3,483 arrested

“The data received from the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department, West Bengal indicates that a total number of 4,001 child marriage cases were noticed in 23 districts of West Bengal from April 2021 to March 2022. Out of these 4,001 cases, a total number of 2,939 child marriages were stopped, however, information on FIRs registered and injunction orders issued in cases was not available. Data from April 2022 to September 2022 shows that a total of 2,732 cases were noticed and 2,154 child marriages were stopped whereas the status of rest 578 cases is not given,” Kanungo has written in the letter to DGP West Bengal sent on Monday.

Action taken reports in over 1,062 cases from April 2021 to March 2022 and in 578 cases from April 2022 to September 2022 were not available, Kanungo wrote.

“You are requested to take lawful action in all 1630 child marriage cases in accordance with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 and POCSO Act 2012 and submit the detailed factual report covering the following, along with authenticated copies of the relevant documents to the Commission within 10 days of issue of this letter,” the letter reads. Along with copies of FIRs, status reports of the cases filed and details of CWC orders in these cases have been sought.

In neighbouring Assam, a crackdown on child marriage cases has seen arrests of over 6,707 people in more than 4,200 cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in cases of marriages involving minor girls, even though the move has been criticised for using the cause for a clampdown on minorities, with the Gauhati High Court saying that the move has caused “havoc in the private life of people”.