What is POSCO here? HC’s strong observations amidst child marriage crackdown in Assam

The problem of child marriages is immense and 13 per cent of the girls married are underage a report had said. In the crackdown the police have arrested 3,000 persons

The Gauhati High Court has red-flagged the decision to include charges under POSCO amidst the ongoing crackdown on child marriages in Assam.

The police in state-wide raids has taken into custody over 3,000 people accused of indulging or facilitating child marriages. The move has sparked protests by women who said that the police has arrested the sole bread-winners of the family.

While granting pre-arrest bail to nine people charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences or POCSO Act or POSCO, the High Court on Tuesday observed that these are cases which do not require custodial interrogation.

"If marriage is taking place in violation of Law, the law will take its own course. These cases have been happening since time. We will only consider if immediate custodial interrogation is required or not. At this moment, this court thinks that these are not matters for custodial interrogation. We will ask them to appear and record their statements. These are not NDPS, smuggling, stolen property cases," Justice Suman Shyam orally observed.

The counsel for the state of Assam however argued that these are serious matters. To this the judge asked, 'what is the POSCO here?'

"POCSO you can add anything. What is the POCSO here? Merely because POCSO is added, does it mean judges will not see what is there?...We are not acquitting anyone here. No one is preventing you to probe," the judge said.

When a similar matter came up before the court, the judge sought the view of an advocate sitting in the courtroom, who agreed with the Bench.

"These are not matters for custodial interrogation. You (state) proceed as per the law, file a chargesheet. If they are convicted, then they are convicted. It is causing havoc in the private lives of people. There are children, family members and old people, the Bench said, according to reports (https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/gauhati-high-court-assam-child-marriage-cases-anticipatory-bail-custodial-interrogation-221555).

While stating that child marriage is a bad idea, the court added that it would give its views when the right time comes. At the moment the only issue is whether the accused should be arrested and pushed into the jail, Justice Shyam said.

In another matter with similar allegations, the Bench sought to known why Section 376 IPC (rape) was added to the case.

While granting anticipatory bail in the case, the court asked, 'is there any allegation of rape here? Weird allegations are made in this case.'

Child marriage in Assam:

Child marriage is a major issue in Assam. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) a survey conducted in 2019-20 revealed that 13 per cent of the women in Assam were married before the age of 18. This is slightly higher than the national average of 11 per cent.

The government of India has taken several steps to deal with this menace. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 makes it illegal to anyone to marry a girl under the age of 18 years of age or a boy under 21 years.

In Assam following a decision by the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, a major crackdown on child marriages has been initiated. Over 4,000 cases have been filed and 3,000 or more arrested.