The Rajasthan government has withdrawn the Rajasthan Compulsory Registrations of Marriage Amendment Bill, 2021, after it sparked outrage for making it mandatory to register all marriages, including those of minors.
The government had tabled the bill in the state Assembly last month but the opposition, as well as social welfare organizations across the country, opposed it.
On August 16, the Ashok Gehlot government of Rajasthan pushed the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration Of Marriages (Amendment) Bill in the state assembly. The bill that was passed amended Section 8 of the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009.
The opposition BJP and rights activists had objected to a provision in the ‘Rajasthan Compulsory Marriage Registration (Amendment) Bill 2021’ that allowed registration of marriage even if the bride and the groom had not attained the legal age to tie the knot.
“There has been a controversy in the country that this law will encourage child marriage. We decided that it was not a question of our prestige. We will request the governor to return the bill we have passed,” Gehlot said addressing a programme on International Girl Child Day.
Despite a ban on child marriages, the state has been reporting such cases over the years.
Mr Gehlot said that the Supreme Court had made it necessary to register every marriage after which the Bill was introduced and passed.
He said that legal opinion was taken earlier and the government will take it further also so that child marriages never happen in Rajasthan.
“The Supreme Court stated that marriage should be registered, be it of anyone. Given this, a bill was passed in the assembly, but a controversy erupted that this law will encourage child marriage,” he said.
(With inputs from ANI)
