Petition Over New Law Raises Concern About Child Marriages In Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Compulsory Registrations of Marriage Amendment Bill 2021 makes it mandatory to register all marriages even if a girl is under 18 and a boy is under 21 by the guardians.

A petition has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court against a new state law over the registration of marriages that says that all marriages including those of minors must be registered.

The Rajasthan Compulsory Registrations of Marriage Amendment Bill 2021 makes it mandatory to register all marriages even if a girl is under 18 and a boy is under 21 by the guardians. 

The law has sparked a furore in the state with the opposition raising tough questions for the Ashok Gehlot government, saying that the government is "giving a back-door entry to child marriage".

The petition in the high court has been filed by NGO Saarthi Trust's activist Kriti Bhati who has been working against child marriages. In the plea, the NGO from Jodhpur has challenged the constitutional validity of such a bill.