By Ajith Kannan, Published: 27th July 2015 02:41 AM

KOZHIKODE:The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child rights (KSCPC) has asked the Social Justice Department to register FIR in all child marriage cases in the state. The decision follows a report submitted by the department last week furnishing the details of under-age marriages in the past five years.

The KSCPC had earlier sought a detailed report from the Social Welfare Department over child marriage cases based on a news report published last February by ‘Express’, in which it was revealed that the state is  witnessing a spurt in under-age marriages. It was also brought to light that the officials with the Social Welfare Department was taking a lackadaisical attitude towards the issue by not registering cases though the incidents were brought to their notice. ‘Express’ report exposed that only 261 cases of child marriages were registered in the state in the past five years, while the state witnessed 2,740 such cases. Following the report, the commission had directed the department to submit a detailed report. The department failed in submitting the report on time.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Register-FIR-in-Child-Marriage-Cases-KSCPC/2015/07/27/article2942312.ece