GUWAHATI HC condemns crackdown on child marriage in Assam

GUWAHATI: Observing that the arrest of a large number of people in the crackdown on child marriage has created “havoc in the private lives of people”, the Guwahati High Court has said that custodial interrogation of the accused in such cases not required.

The court also slammed the Assam government for slapping tough laws like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012 (POCSO) and rape charges against child marriage accused, saying the allegations were “absolutely bizarre”.
Hearing the anticipatory bail and interim bail applications of a group of accused, Justice Suman Shyam allowed all the petitioners to be released on bail with immediate effect.

“These are not matters of custodial investigation. You (state) proceed according to law, we have nothing to say. If you find someone guilty, file a charge sheet. Let him or her face trial and If they are convicted, they are convicted,” the judge said.
He said that these are not related to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS), smuggling or stolen property.

“It (arrests) is wreaking havoc on people’s private lives. There are children, families, the elderly. It may not be a good idea to go for (arrests), obviously, it’s a bad idea,” he said. observed on Tuesday.

A total of 3,031 persons were arrested against the registration of 4,225 cases of child marriage till February 14. The crackdown began on February 3 with 4,004 FIRs.
Justice Shyam told Additional Public Prosecutor D Das that the state government does not even have space in the jails and advised the administration to build bigger jails.

When the government counsel pointed out that cases were registered under the POCSO Act and non-bailable charges of rape (IPC Section 376), Justice Shyam said, “What is POCSO here? Just because POCSO added Gone, does that mean the judges won’t see what’s there?
He added that the High Court is not acquitting anyone and no one is stopping the government from investigating child marriage cases.

“Why Section 376 of the IPC? Is there any charge of rape? These are all strange allegations, absolutely strange,” observed Justice Shyam.

The judge then sought the opinion of senior advocate Angshuman Bora, a well-known criminal lawyer in the courtroom to hear a separate case, the mass arrests of child marriage accused.
“They’re not terrible criminals,” Bora said. At this stage, they (the state) can file a charge sheet and later when the matter comes to court, the matter will be decided according to law.

He also emphasized that the message against child marriage can be conveyed otherwise by filing chargesheets and sensitizing people, but “not by arresting everyone”.
Justice Shyam further asked what did you gain from interrogating these people in custody? Either he’s motivated or he’s not. Either it is a case of child marriage or it is not. Is custodial investigation necessary for this? What’s the idea behind it?”

In the case of Moulana Sajahan Ali, who allegedly facilitated child marriage, the public prosecutor said he was unaware of the police’s motive behind his arrest.

“The accused was caught red-handed. Perhaps he was getting married and was arrested at that time,” said Das.
Ali’s lawyer H R A Coudhary pointed out that according to the FIR, the marriage took place in 2021, and asked how he was caught red-handed now.

Justice Shyam said, “What do you (Das) have to say?” We will release him on bail. These are not sitting matters. If the marriage is taking place in violation of the legal provisions, the law will take its course. That we have nothing to say.

“The sentence is two years and these are cases that have been going on for ages. We will only consider whether there is an immediate need for detention or not.