Law on prevention of child marriages can't be stunted by personal laws: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday 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.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also issued a slew of guidelines for effective implementation of the law on prevention of child marriages in the country.
Reading out the judgement, the CJI said the law on prevention of child marriages cannot be stunted by the personal law.
Such marriages are violative of minors' free will to choose life, it said.
The authorities must focus on child marriage prevention and protection of minors while penalising offenders as a last resort.
The bench also noted that the law on Prohibition of Child Marriage has certain gaps.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 was enacted to prevent child marriages and ensure their eradication from society. The Act replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.
"Preventive strategy should be tailored to different communities, the law will only succeed when there is a multi sectoral coordination. Training and capacity building of the law enforcement officers needs to be there. We emphasise that there needs to be community driven approaches," the bench said.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
