Karnataka cabinet approves bill to criminalise engagements of minors
Bengaluru, Jul 24 (PTI): In a significant move to curb child marriage, the Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to make even engagements involving minors a punishable offence.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the Cabinet has cleared the proposal and the Bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of the legislature.
The cabinet took note of the fact that nearly 700 child marriages were reported across the state during 2023–24.
The decision follows a resolution passed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, where Deputy Commissioners of the districts and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of Zilla Panchayats were directed to take stricter measures to prevent child marriages.
This Bill sends a strong message that not only child marriage, but even betrothing a minor is unacceptable and will attract legal consequences, the Minister said.
"We have brought radical changes socially. People who were escaping the legal action cannot get away. We are doing whatever best could be done to check child marriages,” Patil said.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
