A 30-years old man had forcibly married a 13-years old girl through kidnapping. The victim had previously gone for attending some religious event, but she never came to her home. As a result, the FIR got registered with the police against the man who was a resident of Ramnathpur. The family members of the victim found her in the home of the man, claiming that marriage had done.
The police recorded the FIR and charged him with section 366 of the IPC for abducting and forcibly marrying the girl with Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act against him[1].
Eventually, the matter comes under the custody of the Special Court where Special Judge Sanjay Hazarika sentences him to 20 years of rigorous punishment on the grounds of charge under the POSCO act followed by additional five years of jail on the ground of Section 366 of the IPC which talks about the Kidnapping and forcibly marrying her.
The total sentence of the man was 25 years granted by the court. The man was also directed to pay the amount of Rs. 10,000 to the victim each in both cases or an additional year of jail would be approved by the court[2]. The court released its verdict in 1 year and 4 months on Saturday.
Recently, the government of Assam took strict initiatives in opposition to child marriages along with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announcing the Zero-tolerance policy against such kind of activities[3]. Such a scheme resulted in the conviction of several offenders who committed or were involved in child marriages.
Written by- Aniruddh Atul Garg, a student at ILSR, GLA University, Mathura, 2nd Semester, an intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] LAW TREND, https://lawtrend.in/assam-man-sentenced-to-25-years-in-jail-for-marrying-13-year-old-girl/ (last visited 23rd May, 2023).
[2] OUTLOOK INDIA, https://www.outlookindia.com/national/assam-man-sentenced-to-25-years-in-jail-for-marrying-13-year-old-girl-news-288629 (last visited 23rd May, 2023).
[3] HINDUSTAN TIMES, https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/man-sentenced-to-25-years-for-abducting-and-forcibly-marrying-13-year-old-girl-in-assam-under-pocso-act-and-ipc-366-101684661405602-amp.html (last visited 23rd May, 2023).
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