The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

Act No. 06

10-Jan-2007

Section 1 — Short title, extent and commencement

1. Short title, extent and commencement .

(1)This Act may be called the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

(2)It extends to the whole of India 1***; and it applies also to all citizens of India without and beyond India: Provided that nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the Renoncants of the Union territory of Pondicherry.

(3)It shall come into force on such date2 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different States and any reference in any provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed in relation to any State as a reference to the coming into force of that provision in that State.

Section 2 — Definitions

2. Definitions. -In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a)“child ” means a person who, if a male, has not completed twenty -one years of age, and if a female, has not completed eighteen years of age;

(b)“child marriage ” means a marriage to which either of the contracting parties is a child;

(c)“contracting party ”, in relation to a marriage, means either of the parties whose marriage is or is about to be thereby solemnised;

(d)“Child Marriage Prohibition Officer ” includes the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer appointed under sub -section ( 1) of section 16;

(e)“district court ” means, in any area for which a Family Court established under section 3 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 (66 of 1984) exists, such Family Court, and in any area for which there is no Family Court but a city civil court exists, that court and in any other area, the principal civil court of original jurisdiction and includes any other civil court which may be specified by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, as having jurisdiction in respect of the matters dealt with in this Act;

(f)“minor ” means a person who, under the provisions of the Majority Act, 1875 (9 of 1875) , is to be deemed not to have attained his majority.

Section 3 — Child marriages to be voidable at the option of contracting party being a child

3. Child marriages to be voidable at the option of contracting party being a child.

(1)Every child marriage, whether solemnised before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage: Provided that a petition for annulling a child marriage by a decree of nullity may be filed in the district court only by a contracting party to the marriage who was a child at the time of the marriage.

(2)If at the time of filing a petition, the petitioner is a minor, the petition may be filed through his or her guardian or next friend along with the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer.

(3)The petition under this section may be filed at any time but before the child filing the petition completes two years of attaining majority.

Section 2 — 1st November, 2007, vide notification N o. S.O. 1850(E), dated 30th October, 2007, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,

2. 1st November, 2007, vide notification N o. S.O. 1850(E), dated 30th October, 2007, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,

🟡 Yellow = Single meaning

🔵 Blue = Multiple meanings

Tap any highlighted term to view interpretations and precedents