NEW DELHI: The women and child development (WCD) ministry is set to send a proposal to the Cabinet to amend Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, to make child marriages “void ab initio” which means invalid at the outset. This would apply to all future child marriages after the amendment is approved and effected.

If approved, it will amend the provisions of the law that allow child marriages to continue till a case is filed in a district court by either of the two contracting parties within two years of becoming an adult, or through a guardian in case of minors.

However, the issue of marriages contracted under personal laws still remains unresolved which would need to be amended separately. The legal age for marriage in India is 18 for a woman and 21 for a man.

In October 2017, the Supreme Court had ruled that “sexual intercourse with a minor wife amounts to rape, as under no circumstances can a child below 18 years give consent, express or implied, for sexual intercourse.

