Top court wants to make public reps responsible for child marriage

The High Court on Monday issued a suo moto rule seeking explanation as to why public representatives of union parishads, city corporations and municipalities would not be held responsible for child marriages in their respective areas

The court also wanted to know why legal action would not be taken against union parishad chairmen, ward members in union parishads and ward commissioners in city corporations and municipalities for each incident of child marriage taking place in their respective areas.

A bench of Justice Kazi Reza-Ul Haque and Justice Mohammad Ullah issued the rule, a UNB report said.

Public Administration, Local Government, Law, Home, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs secretaries and Inspector General of Police have been asked to respond to the rule in four weeks.

The court also asked the secretaries to the Public Administration and the Women and Children Affairs ministries to send a copy of the HC rule to all the deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers.

The court issued the rule after taking cognisance of a report headlined '8 child marriages prevented in 24 hours' published in a national daily on October 28.