Tripura govt plans mandatory wedding registration to curb child marriages

Agartala, July 19: In a bid to combat the persistent issue of child marriages in Tripura, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday disclosed that the State Government is actively considering making registration of all social weddings compulsory.

The move aims to ensure legal safeguards and enforce age verification for marriage through mandatory submission of birth certificates.

Addressing a government programme at Gandhigram in West Tripura, Dr Saha said, “The Government is contemplating preventing child marriage by introducing pre-marriage registration for social marriages. We will also explore necessary legal provisions to implement this. For this, submission of birth certificates will be made mandatory.”

Citing statistics dating back to 2020 from the State’s Social Education and Social Welfare Department, the Chief Minister stated that Tripura ranks third in the country for incidents of child marriage, behind West Bengal and Bihar. Under current laws, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.

Dr Saha noted that production of birth certificates during marriage registration would automatically verify the age of brides and grooms, thereby acting as a strong deterrent against child marriage.

He urged citizens to raise awareness and actively resist the practice. Applauding a recent example, he said that a girl from a minority community in Tripura was honoured by President Droupadi Murmu for her courageous stand against child marriage. “Others should draw inspiration from her,” he added.

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