BENGALURU: Child Rights Trust Executive Director Vasudev Sharma has written to the state department of women and child development, urging it to issue a direction that Aadhaar Card cannot be considered as a proof of age in cases of marriages, especially child marriages, as permitted in the earlier standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The long-standing issue of child marriages across the state remains unsolved even today, leading to an increase in maternal mortality rate and the birth of undernourished newborns.
What triggered the Trust’s move was a recent ruling of the High Court of Karnataka that aquited a 24-year-old accused in a child marriage case in Raichur, owing to discrepancies in the date of birth of the girl in a school document and on her Aadhar card.
Sharma told TNIE, “Such cases must be reported responsibly in the media because they set precedence for others that they too can approach the courts if they are caught in such issues. In addition to this, the SOPs in place to prevent child marriages clearly mention Karnataka government’s specific guidelines on how to determine the age of boys and girls involved in child marriages.
It says that the primary record to consider is the date of birth on the birth certificate. If it is not available, the date mentioned in the school records can be taken as age proof. In cases where both are available, an affidavit of the parents and age test report from the district medical officer can be considered as proof.”
In many cases, the relatives of a girl get the date of birth altered on the Aadhaar card, as it cannot be changed in the school certificates, Sharma said.
“Aadhaar card is not a document to be considered (as age proof), and courts or any organisations cannot sideline the directions of the government. The government and the courts must protect the child and punish those who violate child rights guaranteed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006,” he said.
Sharma said the issue is prevalent not only in Kalyan Karnataka region but also in Bengaluru rural, Kolar, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Mandya and Mysuru. In 2025, Minister for Women and Child development Lakshmi Hebbalakar said on the floor of the House that 405 cases of child marriage were reported in 2022–23, 709 in 2023–24, 685 in 2024–25 and 564 in 2025 until October.