Child Marriage Law Commission Perspective

THE LAW Commission has proposed reducing the minimum age of marriage for men from 21 to 18 years. Simultaneously, it has suggested that unions below the age of 16 be declared as void. The Commission, headed by A R Lakshmanan, has further stated that the age of marriage for both boys and girls should be 18 because “there is no scientific reason why this should be different”. It is this statement, which does not seem to have factored in the ground reality that surprises me. That way speaking, what prevents a woman of 38 years marrying a man of 22? Why it is frowned upon? Lakshmanan himself may frown on it although no scientific reason disallows such a marriage. In India, the wife by default is younger than the husband. Thus an 18-year-old boy marrying an 18-year-old is at best the exception and not the rule.