NEW DELHI: A report compiled by a network of voluntary organizations has revealed that 1,351 child marriages were successfully stopped in 416 districts across 23 states in 2024-2025. Additionally, over 1.2 lakh potential child marriages were averted through legal interventions, according to the findings reported by Ambika Pandit.
The data, gathered by ‘Just Rights For Children’ (JRC), a coalition of over 250 organizations, also shows that 779 FIRs were filed in cases where authorities couldn’t halt the marriage. West Bengal recorded the highest number of such cases (170), followed by Tamil Nadu (146) and Bihar (114).
Of the 1,351 marriages that were stopped, the majority involved police action, with 737 cases being addressed through general diary entries in police records. In 593 cases, intervention came through Child Welfare Committees, and 21 cases were halted via injunction orders from the courts.
In more than 1.2 lakh cases, where information was received about families planning to marry off underage girls, authorities were able to prevent the marriages by securing undertakings from parents or guardians. These undertakings were submitted to local government officials such as police, sub-divisional magistrates, child marriage prohibition officers, or panchayat members. Additionally, in over 66,000 cases, community social workers associated with the JRC network persuaded families to avoid child marriages through counseling and obtaining undertakings from parents.
The report comes ahead of Akshay Tritiya, a time when many child marriages are traditionally carried out under the guise of mass weddings. This year, Akshay Tritiya falls on April 30. In light of this, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged state authorities to intensify efforts to prevent child marriages, particularly among vulnerable, out-of-school girls. NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo has advised state officials to review school dropout statistics and re-enroll girls at risk of child marriage.
