Child marriage and POCSO conviction rates in Assam as low as 5.63 per cent, reveals CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma disclosed in the state assembly on March 13 that out of 8,773 individuals charged with child marriage and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) violations from 2017 to February 2023, only 494 have been convicted, amounting to a meager conviction rate of 5.63%. The remaining 6,174 individuals were released on bail.

During this period, a total of 4,049 persons were arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) and 8,908 under POCSO in Assam. Among these, 134 boys under 21 years of age and 2,975 girls below 18 years of age were married, violating the permissible age of marriage for males and females respectively.

In response to the data, Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal accused the Assam government of "terrorizing" people with the two acts. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika defended the government's actions and questioned the opposition's inaction during their tenure. This led to a heated debate in the assembly.

In a separate query by Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, the Chief Minister stated that 4,111 incidents of child marriage took place in the state from April 2021 to February 2023, with a total of 7,142 accused named in 4,670 cases. Out of these, 3,483 individuals were arrested, with 1,182 in jail and 2,253 released on bail, while notices were issued to 48 others.

The Chief Minister also admitted that the government has not taken responsibility for the children born out of child marriages but promised to initiate steps if any child requires care and security.

During the debate on the Governor's address, the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia cited the negative impact of slapping POCSO and rape cases on child marriage accused, while AIUDF's Aminul Islam claimed that the government hatched a conspiracy by charging POCSO and rape on people who had married 7-8 years ago. Congress MLA Bharat Chandra Narah refuted the government's claim on maternal mortality rate (MMR) and argued that child marriage is one of the reasons for high MMR in Assam, while CPI(M)'s Manoranjan Talukdar criticized the lack of awareness against child marriage and called for following the Kerala model to curb this menace.