The Supreme Court on Friday (October 18, 2024) held that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act cannot be stunted by personal laws and that marriages involving children violate the free will to have a life partner of choice. Reading out the judgment, the CJI said the law on the prevention of child marriages cannot be stunted by personal law.
“Such marriages are violative of minors’ free will to choose life,” it said.
The authorities must focus on child marriage prevention and the protection of minors while penalising offenders as a last resort.
