Bill seeking to increase marriage age of girls among four to lapse

New Delhi: A bill to increase the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 years to 21 years, introduced with much fanfare two years ago, is among four bills that will lapse with the end of the current Lok Sabha.

The contentious Electricity Amendment Bill, The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 are the three other bills that will lapse, an analysis of Parliament Bulletins has shown.

A bill originating from Lok Sabha and remaining inconclusive in either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha will lapse with the end of the Lower House’s tenure. However, bills introduced but remaining inconclusive in Rajya Sabha do not lapse.

An analysis by PRS Legislative Research stated that 20 bills were withdrawn, and only 16 per cent of bills were referred to Committees for detailed scrutiny, which is "lower than corresponding figures" for the previous three Lok Sabhas.

The government introduced The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, as a radical measure in December 2021 following a recommendation by a ten-member task force.

However, the fate of the bill was sealed on January 24 when the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports received an extension for four months – the seventh one – indicating that the just concluded Budget Session would not address it.

The genesis of the bill can be traced back to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech in February 2020 when she announced the formation of a task force to study the issue of increasing the legal age of marriage for girls. The aim was to address infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates.

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani introduced the bill in Lok Sabha in December 2021 after a panel led by activist Jaya Jaitly submitted a report recommending raising the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 years. Subsequently, the bill was referred to the Parliamentary panel for further consideration.

However, the Standing Committee sought periodical extensions as discussions did not conclude, and reservations were expressed from several quarters over the move. The government also appeared not keen on the bill.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which attracted the ire of several states, has also been put on hold as the union government wanted to build consensus around it before pushing it in Parliament.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was passed by Lok Sabha but remained pending in Rajya Sabha, will also lapse as per law.

However, 20 bills introduced and remaining pending in Rajya Sabha will not lapse, including five introduced by the Narendra Modi government. The longest pending bill, The Constitution (79th Amendment) Bill, 1992, aimed at amending the Directive Principles of the Constitution to include the promotion of population control, dates back to December 1992.