THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram Pocso Court has stayed further proceedings in a private complaint alleging that the ‘Kumbh Mela viral girl’ was a minor at the time of her marriage and that the marriage was conducted illegally.
The order was issued by Pocso Court Judge M P Shibu, halting all subsequent steps in the complaint filed before the court on charges that a minor girl had been married off.
During the hearing, the prosecution submitted multiple documents to establish that the girl had completed 18 years of age at the time of her marriage. These included her birth certificate showing her date of birth as January 1, 2008, along with an Aadhaar card issued on May 20, 2015, when she was seven years old, and a renewed Aadhaar card dated January 6, 2026.
Other documents placed before the court were her election ID card, PAN card, ration card, and records showing her inclusion in the voters list, as well as her marriage certificate.
The prosecution informed the court that the marriage took place on March 11, 2026, by which time she had already turned 18. It further alleged that on March 18, 2026, the girl’s father, under external pressure, approached authorities in Madhya Pradesh to cancel the original birth certificate. Subsequently, it was claimed that hospital birth records of the girl’s younger brother were misused to obtain a fresh birth certificate indicating that she was a minor on the date of marriage.
According to the prosecution, the private complaint was filed based on this allegedly fabricated birth certificate, falsely projecting the girl as a minor and implicating political leaders as accused.
Noting that a related case is also under consideration in Madhya Pradesh, the court sought a detailed report from the Madhya Pradesh police.
The proceedings in the private complaint have been stayed, and the case has been posted for further hearing on May 20.