Rajasthan Court Injunctions Prevent Five Child Marriages in Single Day
In a significant step towards ending child marriage, five such unions were prevented on a single day in Rajasthan's Sikar district through court-issued injunction orders. The action on July 16, 2026, was the result of coordinated efforts by the police and voluntary organisations working for child rights.
Among the children rescued were two boys aged nine and 12, who were to be married to girls of similar ages under the traditional Aata-Saata (exchange alliance) practice. Another case involved a girl below 18 years of age who was to be married to a 42-year-old widower.
The Gayatri Seva Sansthan, a partner organisation of Just Rights for Children (JRC), received information about the planned marriage of a minor girl in a village under Gokulpura police station. When the organisation's members, accompanied by police, arrived to intervene, some villagers tried to conceal the facts, and the girl's family claimed she was an adult. However, school records confirmed she was below 18.
During the intervention, the team discovered that two more marriages involving the boys aged nine and 12 from the same family were scheduled under the Aata-Saata custom. The organisation immediately approached the Additional Judicial Magistrate, Sikar, under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, seeking injunction orders. The court issued injunctions directing that none of the children could be married before attaining the legal age, preventing all five child marriages.
Under Section 13(1) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, an injunction order empowers authorities to proactively prevent a child marriage. The court also declared that any marriage solemnised in contravention would be void ab initio (from the beginning).
After his marriage was stopped, the 12-year-old boy said he dreamt of becoming a lawyer and feared that marriage would have forced him to abandon his education.
Shailendra Pandya, Director of Gayatri Seva Sansthan, said Sikar was emerging as a leading district in implementing the law against child marriage. He noted that during Akshaya Tritiya earlier this year, the district saw the first use of court injunctions to prevent child marriages of two girls. Mr. Pandya, a former member of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, added that the interventions sent a strong message that the law is now being enforced firmly.
Ravi Kant, JRC national convener, said sustained awareness campaigns by NGOs were encouraging communities to report planned child marriages.
