Should merely attending a child-marriage ceremony expose a guest to ten years’ imprisonment? Should religious and traditional leaders be presumed to know that one of the contracting parties is below eighteen? These are among the difficult questions examined in this article.
The article analyses the criminalisation of guests, celebrants and community members under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024. Particular attention is given to the statutory presumption of knowledge, the constitutional presumption of innocence, religious freedom and the distinction between intentional participation, cultural obligation and mere presence.
While defending decisive legal action against those who knowingly organise, legitimise or facilitate child marriage, the article argues that criminal responsibility must remain personal and evidence-based. The law should dismantle the communal machinery that sustains child marriage without replacing collective responsibility with guilt by association