700 child marriages in Karnataka during 2024-25: CM Siddaramaiah slams officials over lapses
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has strongly criticised senior district officials after the state reported a shocking 700 child marriages during the 2024–25 period, with five districts alone accounting for over 50% of these cases. The Chief Minister’s remarks came during a recent two-day review meeting with Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Superintendents of Police (SPs), and other senior administrators.
He mentioned that a total of 3,049 child marriages were attempted during the year 2024–25. While 2,349 were successfully prevented, 700 were solemnised, leading in some instances to teenage pregnancies and motherhood, as reported by Deccan Herald on Saturday.
"Even after decades of Independence, 700 child marriages in a year is a shocking statistic,” Siddaramaiah said, stressing that poor implementation of existing laws in certain regions is unacceptable.
The Chief Minister expressed disappointment at the apparent administrative lapses, questioning the vigilance of district officials. “If you do not know what is happening in your districts, it raises questions about your efficiency. Are your subordinates afraid to report such cases, or do they simply not care,” DH quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.
The situation is compounded by a surge in teenage pregnancies linked to cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. According to the data presented by the Women and Child Development Department, out of 3,489 Pocso cases reported in 2024-25, 685 involved pregnancies among minor girls.
The districts of Shivamogga (79 cases), Belagavi (78), Chitradurga (74), Bagalkote (63), and Mysuru (60) emerged as the worst-affected, together contributing to more than half of the total child marriages reported across the state.
Siddaramaiah asserted that the continued prevalence of child marriages and teenage pregnancies in Karnataka is deeply concerning and demanded stringent legal actions to ensure that offenders are held accountable.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
