700 child marriages in a year: CM Siddaramaiah pulls up officials

Bengaluru: Karnataka reported as many as 700 child marriages in the 2024-25 period, with just five districts recording more than 50 per cent of these cases, prompting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to pull up district-level officials during a review meeting on Friday.  

“If you do not know what is happening in your districts, it raises questions about your efficiency. Are your subordinates afraid to report such cases, or do they simply not care?” he asked at the two-day review meeting with Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Superintendents of Police (SPs) and other senior officials.

Compounding the issue, the state recorded a worrying number of teenage pregnancies linked to cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

Out of the 3,489 Pocso cases in the year 2024-25, 685 involved minor girls becoming pregnant, according to the data presented by the Women and Child Development Department.

Siddaramaiah termed the continued prevalence of child marriages and increasing teenage pregnancies in the state as a matter of grave concern.

The districts of Shivamogga, Belagavi, Chitradurga, Bagalkote and Mysuru accounted for more than 50% of child marriages in the state. Shivamogga led the list with 79 reported cases, followed closely by Belagavi with 78, Chitradurga with 74, Bagalkote with 63 and Mysuru with 60.

Despite laws prohibiting child marriage, FIRs were not registered in many of the reported cases, which reflected a serious lapse in law enforcement, the CM said.

He noted that a total of 3,049 attempted child marriages were reported during the year, of which authorities successfully prevented 2,349. In the remaining 700 instances which were solemnised, some resulted in teenage girls becoming mothers.

"Even after decades of Independence, 700 child marriages in a year is a shocking statistic. We have the laws, but their implementation remains poor in some regions. This is unacceptable," the chief minister said.

With regards to offences under the Pocso Act, the CM’s home district of Mysuru recorded 162 cases, of which 53 involved teenage pregnancies. In Shivamogga, 231 cases were registered, including instances of 55 pregnancies. Haveri reported 129 cases; 58 with pregnancies — the highest proportion among these three districts.

Siddaramaiah emphasised the need for strict legal action in all Pocso cases and directed that criminal charges be filed promptly and thoroughly pursued to ensure punishment for offenders.