Elopement of minor girls on the rise in Haryana

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 11

Meetu* has been in a Child Care Institution (CCI) at Sonepat for nearly three years, waiting out to turn 18 and be legally eligible to marry the boy she loves. The two, who belong to different castes, had eloped fearing backlash from their families. Meetu’s parents filed a complaint against the boy and the police found them. While the boy (24) was arrested for “abducting” the minor, Meetu was sent to a CCI as she refused to go back to her parents. 

Presently, the boy is out on bail. In November, Meetu will turn 18, the legal age for marriage of women in India. “During these three years, we could meet only during the hearings of his trial. I will marry him. He has also promised to marry me,” she says feebly during her counselling session. 

The CCIs forbid all kinds of communication between a runaway girl and her partner; keeping a mobile phone is prohibited.   

Rani* (17) eloped with her 21-year-old boyfriend as the parents were opposed to their relationship. After being recovered by police, she refused to go with her parents and was sent to a Gurugram CCI in July this year. She is five months’ pregnant. The boy she eloped with is her relative and is now in jail. “I have known him for six years. We started seeing each other. I didn’t go with my parents as they were pressing for an abortion. Next year in June, I will turn 18 and will marry him,” Rani tells during her counselling session. 

“If a boy flees with a minor girl, the police recover the girl on parents’ complaint. Usually, the boy faces charges of abduction, procuration of minor; rape, too, if the girl reports about sexual intercourse or if there is an evidence,” said Manbir Rathi, a lawyer, who deals in such cases. 

There were 360 cases of “abduction” of minor girls, where rape section has been added, in Haryana in 2019, according to data shared by police. It comes to 30 cases per month. Faridabad with 49 cases and Gurugram with 44 lead among the districts. Such cases rose by 4.7 per cent to 377 (31.4 per month) in 2020 despite it being a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the data show. Again, Faridabad (49) and Gurugram (38) reported the maximum number of cases. 

Till July this year, 269 such cases have been registered, with 38.4 incidents per month. Faridabad (25) leads, followed by Hisar (22).     

“The police recover girls following the registration of an FIR of kidnapping. And if she is a minor, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act is invoked in the FIR based on the allegations contained in the complaint,” said ADGP, crime against women, Kala Ramachandran. 

“The girls turn hostile in court paving the way for the acquittal of their lovers, but this does not happen before their [the boys’] incarceration for months or years. However, in cases where a minor gets pregnant, the boy’s conviction for rape is likely. He could even be sentenced to life imprisonment,” says Rathi.     

Earlier, the legal age of sexual consent was 16 years under section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). But the POCSO act, 2012, and the criminal law amendment in 2013 increased it to 18. “The law was intended against child sexual abuse. But fixing 18 years for consent is on the higher side. In Europe, it is 16. Lawmakers must think about it,” said advocate Abhishek Rana, who practises at Panchkula district courts.     

More and more runaway minor girls in Haryana, a state notorious for honour killings, are opting to stay at shelter homes than going back to their families after police recover them. In 2019 and 2020 (data maintained jointly for two years), there were 491 runaway minor girls (20.5 per month) who initially refused to go with their parents, according to the Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (HSCPCR).  

This year, till July 31, there were 303 such minor girls; nearly 43.3 cases per month. The highest number of cases this year were reported at Karnal CCIs (66), followed by Panipat (57), the HSCPCR data show.   

“The girls prefer not to go back to their parents as they fear being ostracised and could face violence too. They wait to turn 18 to leave the shelter home and get married. We keep counselling them and their parents for the girls’ return to the family. Many go back too after spending some time at CCIs,” said Jyoti Bainda, chairperson, HSCPCR. “If pregnant, the girls do not prefer abortion,” Bainda added. 

“The boys have to suffer in jail. There are cases wherein both families agree to get the boy and girl married if the girl is pregnant, but the boy still can’t escape the law. There should be allowances in the law for consenting couples,” said Upasana Sachdeva, member Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Gurugram.   

Rama* was 17 when she eloped with Surinder*, 19, in Panchkula. The police recovered Rama, shifted her to a CCI and arrested Surinder, who later faced trial for her rape. She told the court that she wanted to live with Surinder. Once, she even fled from the shelter home and showed up at Surinder’s parents’ place but was turned back to the CCI. At another occasion, she locked herself inside a toilet at CCI, insisting on meeting her boyfriend. 

Surinder was acquitted in February 2020 from a Panchkula court after staying in jail for two years. The couple have reportedly got married. 

“Such minor girls are usually less educated and hail from poor and migrant families. They have several issues at home such as having a stepfather or violent parents or inter-caste or inter-faith love affairs, which is a contributing factor in their elopement. Initially, the girls are depressed and devastated but with time they heal. We help them in pursuing education or vocational courses,” said Kamalpreet Kaur, who counsels runaway minors at a CCI in Gurugram.   

(*Names changed to protect identity.)

History of the age of consent  

As per Independent Thought vs Union of India judgment of 2017, when the Indian Penal Code came in 1860, the age of consent was 10 years under Section 375. It was raised to 12 years with an amendment in the IPC in 1891 and further to 14 years in 1925.  

After the passing of the Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1929, the age of consent was kept at 14 years. In 1940, after an amendment in the IPC and Child Marriage Act, it was revised to 16 years.  

The 84th report of the Law Commission had recommended enhancing the age of consent under section 375 of IPC to 18.

However, the 172nd Report of the Law Commission recommended retaining it at 16 years. Justice JS Verma Committee did not make any recommendation to change the age of consent, however, the Parliament amended the IPC in the wake of the Nirbhaya incident (Delhi gang rape and murder case of 2012) and raised the age of consent to 18 in 2013.

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