New Delhi
The parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing a bill proposing to increase the marriage age of women from 18 to 21 has received an additional extension to submit its report. The Budget session of Parliament, commencing on January 31, marks the final session of the current Lok Sabha before parliamentary elections are announced. With the 17th Lok Sabha term concluding on June 16, the committee is now set to finalize its report by May, following the four-month extension.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, currently pending in the Lok Sabha, faces potential lapse when the House tenure concludes in June. Bills introduced and pending in the Lok Sabha, as well as those passed by the Rajya Sabha and pending in the lower house, cease to exist upon Lok Sabha dissolution.
According to a bulletin issued on January 24, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha granted a four-month extension starting from January 24, 2024, to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports for reviewing The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
This committee has previously received extensions to finalize its report. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2021 and subsequently referred to the standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports under the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, upon introducing the bill, emphasized the government’s aim to establish equality between men and women and to supersede all existing laws and practices pertaining to marriage.
