New Delhi : The Union Cabinet clears Bill raising legal marriage age for women from 18 – 21. With Cabinet nod now through, the government will introduce an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and subsequently bring changes to the Special Marriage Act and personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and so forth.
The Bill was proposed based on recommendations submitted by the Jaya Jaitly-headed task force of the Centre to Niti Aayog in December last year. The task force was constituted to examine “matters pertaining to age ofmotherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR(Maternal Mortality Rate) and improvement of nutritional levels and related issues.
Section 5(ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets minimum age for bride to be 18 and 21 for that of the groom.
