Rajasthan: Court annuals child marriage solemnized 7 years ago
Facebook posts taken into evidence by the court.
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Representative image.
Jaipur: A young girl from the Barmer district of Jodhpur, who left her house opposing the concept of child marriage, has finally won the war of liberation from this primitive system. Sushila, who was sheltered in a children home, with the help of an NGO, pleaded for the repeal of child marriage in a lower court.
Judge Rekha Bhargav delivered a landmark verdict by annulling Sushila’s child marriage. Facebook also proved to be very helpful in this case of Balika Vadhu. Sarathi Trust’s Managing Trustee, Dr. K Bharati, presented many pieces of evidence in the form of Facebook posts in connection with this child marriage in the court.
Sushila, a resident of Bhajiyavas village in Pachapadra tehsil of Barmer district, married off at the age of 12 to a resident of Bisalpur village in Jodhpur district in 2010. Her studies were stopped in spite of her not given consent to her family for this marriage.
Sushila left her house, late on the night of April 27, 2016 and her custody was taken by Sarathi Trust. This was after he found the girl on Barmer highway. The NGO representatives then presented her before the Barmer Bal Kalyan Committee and handed over the girl to Jodhpur Child Welfare Committee. Sushila has been living at the girl’s house ever since.
Sushila pleaded that her child marriage be annulled. During the court proceedings, Sushila’s husband, Naresh, refused to accept that he had married her and claimed that his family had only discussed the possibility of an engagement.
He was proved wrong by the evidence received from his two Facebook ids. Some witnesses also proved the events of Sushila’s child marriage.
After delivering the verdict in the girl’s favor, the Family Court gave a strict message to the society against child marriage. Sushila is continuing her studies and aspires to become a police officer.
