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Order to file case against priest who conducted child marriage | News India

Prayagraj, 04 September (HS). Allahabad High Court has ordered to register a case against the priest who got a 12-year-old minor girl married and the secretary of Arya Sanatan Dharma Seva Samiti, Agra, the institution that issued the marriage certificate. Along with this, the court has directed to get the boy who got married by presenting a fake age certificate arrested from the court itself and hand him over to the concerned police station incharge.

The court said that it should also be investigated from where the fake Aadhar card was made. Along with this, the court has directed to hand over the minor girl to the Child Welfare Committee, Etawah and has asked the Child Welfare Committee to counsel the girl, keep her in a safe place and make arrangements for her rehabilitation. The court has directed SSP Etawah to personally monitor this case.

Justice Vinod Diwakar gave this order while hearing the petition of a 12-year-old minor and the young man Shravan who married her. The petition was filed demanding from the court that both of them are adults and have married of their own free will. Therefore, they should be given protection from the police. The girl's Aadhaar card was presented as proof of age and it was told that she is 21 years old. Similarly, the boy told his age as 29 years.

The government advocate expressed doubt on the age certificate and Aadhar card presented and requested the court that prima facie the Aadhar card appears to be fake. Therefore, it should be investigated. On this, the court ordered SHO Saifai to investigate the Aadhar card and other documents. The court also directed the minor girl's father to appear with the age certificate.

SHO Saifai after investigation told in his report that the date of birth of the minor girl is 8 September 2011 and she is about 12 years old. Police also recorded the statement of the village head and the headmaster of the primary school. The father of the minor also filed an affidavit stating her age as 12 years and eight months. The government lawyer said that dozens of petitions are filed in the court every day on the basis of such fake documents. Aadhar card is easily available and in the greed of money, the members of the trust or committee and the priest get the marriage done. In this case, it can be seen with open eyes that the girl is a minor.

The court said that it is clear that the petitioner is a minor of 12 years and getting her married is against the provisions of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act. Getting married at the age of 12 can have dangerous consequences. This will have a bad effect on the psychological and physical health of the girl because physically and mentally she is not of marriageable age.

The court has directed that a case be filed in Etawah's Saifai police station against the priest who conducted the marriage and the secretary of Arya Sanatan Dharma Seva Samiti Yamuna Vihar Foundry Nagar Agra, the institution that issued the marriage certificate, and an investigation be conducted. The court has also directed to take the petitioner Shravan into custody and hand him over to SHO Saifai. It has also been asked to investigate from where the fake Aadhar card was made.