Both families were fully aware the girl was not legally eligible for marriage. By the time police reached the venue, the rituals had already been completed.
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Pune Child Marriage Case: A minor girl was allegedly married off in Balewadi, one of Pune’s upscale localities, on Sunday, May 11. The victim is 15 years old. The marriage was conducted despite both the groom’s family and the bride’s family being fully aware that the girl was not legally eligible to wed. By the time local police received information about the clandestine ceremony, the rituals had already been completed. Officers launched an investigation and established that the offence had been committed deliberately.
The Baner police registered a case against 35 individuals under Sections 9, 10, and 11 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The accused include the 22-year-old groom, his parents, members of the wedding procession, close relatives attending the ceremony, and guardians from both sides of the family.
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Senior Police Inspector Anil Vibhute of Bavdhan Police Station confirmed the action. “It is extremely unfortunate that, even in 2026, we are still compelled to take action against such social evils. In this case, girl is merely 15. We received information that a minor was being married off in Balewadi in violation of law. We immediately registered an FIR. Thirty-five individuals have been named in the case, and the investigation is ongoing,” he said.
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Vibhute added a clear warning to society: “Anyone involved in a child marriage, whether a relative or even a guest attending the ceremony, will not be spared.”
Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, a child marriage is defined as any union where the female is below 18 years of age or the male is below 21. Sections 9, 10, 11 of the Act hold the groom, his parents or guardians, and anyone who performs, conducts, or directs such marriage criminally liable. Offences under the Act are cognizable, non-bailable. They carry punishment of up to two years in prison, fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both.
The legal consequences do not stop there. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, any sexual act by a man with his wife who is below 18 years of age amounts to rape. The Supreme Court of India has further held that when a husband commits penetrative sexual assault on a child bride, it constitutes aggravated penetrative sexual assault, punishable under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. In effect, child marriage directly amounts to child rape under Indian law.
Efforts to end child marriage in India go back to the 19th century. Social reformers including Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule campaigned against the practice, resulting in the Age of Consent Act, 1891, and later the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, which set the minimum marriage age at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.
After Independence, successive amendments raised these limits to 15 for girls in 1948, then to 18 for girls and 21 for boys in 1978, culminating in the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which remains the operative law today.
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