A Dream Left Hanging: The Case Against Child Marriage
A Story of Kanika
It’s that time of the year when winters are over & summer is approaching. Weather feels depressing because trees are shedding leaves. Playground of Kanya Vidyalay in Lakhisarai is filled with such fallen leaves. The ground is empty because 12th boards are approaching.
“Wow Kanika, that is one of the best diagrams of the human brain I have seen among my students, you’ll surely become a doctor one day.” said Miss Sen. This put a smile on Kanika’s face, her eyes were lit with enthusiasm. “Thank you ma’am”, she said.
Kanika used to watch ‘The Good Doctor’ with her big brother while having dinner & it inspired her to be a doctor. Since then she only dreamed of becoming a neurologist one day. Her brother gifted her an apron when she won a gold medal in the National Science Olympiad in 10th class. She always kept it hanging in her room along with the medal which always reminded her of her dream. While cleaning the room her mother always walked past it but never remarked on it, for her it never even existed.
12th board exams were over & it was result day. Kanika read in the newspaper that the result would be announced at 1pm today. Since morning every passing minute felt like a day. It was almost 1pm now & she had Chrome open on her phone ready to enter her details, her hands were sweating. The phone’s time showed 1pm & Kanika hastily typed her details. Kanika beamed with joy, she scored 491/500. Even before she could grasp her result her phone started ringing, it was Miss Sen. She picked up the phone, “Congratulations beta, I knew it would be you, you secured the highest marks in the school” she said. “Thank you ma’am”, said Kanika. “Now the day is not far when I’ll call you Dr. Kanika”, Miss Sen exclaimed with a cheerful laugh. Kanika looked at the hanging apron in the room with a bit of nervousness & could not reply to that. “Ok beta, we will meet soon & congratulations once again”, said Miss Sen before hanging up the phone. Kanika put her phone down & sat in silence for a second, then she rushed to her mother who was making lunch in the kitchen, “Maa I came 1st in the school” she exclaimed with joy, “ohh shabbas kannu” her mother said without even a slight expression on her face, she was busy making roti & did not even care to look at her child.
Kanika came back to her room, all the enthusiasm and joy she had suddenly vanished. Her friends were calling to congratulate her but she was not present in the conversations. With the board result she had put a step forward towards her dream but something else was being arranged to stop her.
In the evening when her father came, she went to him with a ray of hope that he might acknowledge her achievement, that he might see the dream she saw every day. “Papa I came 1st in my school”, she said, her Papa was happy, he congratulated her but he lacked the hope she was searching for.
After dinner Kanika heard her father on the phone, she caught fragments, a name, a date, the word “haan haan bilkul” with unusual enthusiasm. Her heart sank, she knew exactly what the topic was. She came back to her room, the apron was still hanging there, she straightened it slightly, a small unconscious act of holding on. She’s not crying, she’s not confronting anyone. She’s thinking. The NEET result hasn’t come yet. If it comes quickly, if the number is good enough, maybe she has something to say that they’ll have to hear.
After some days the NEET result finally came & as expected Kanika secured good marks but it mattered less. A date was fixed. The next chapter of her life was already written.
A couple of years had passed & Kanika had come to visit her parents. She stopped at a sweet shop & saw Miss Sen. “Ma’am do you recognise me?”, she asked. When Miss Sen took a good look she immediately broke into a big smile & said “Kanika beta”, & Kanika touched her feet. “It’s been so long since we spoke, how are you, did you take admission for MBBS?” she asked. Kanika smiled faintly, she had no answer, but she was not sad either, she had accepted her life.
Miss Sen looked at Kanika properly, really looked & she noticed sindoor on her head. She went blank, while she was staring at her forehead all she remembered was a child who had ambitions in her eyes. Miss Sen looked into Kanika’s eyes trying to find the light she once saw when Kanika drew that brain diagram, but it was not there. The only word that came out of her mouth was “why?”
“I knew my parents wanted to marry me off after 12th exam, I thought if I score good marks in NEET I would request them to wait & let me finish my MBBS. But it did not matter, everything was already fixed”, said Kanika. Miss Sen had no words, she was just staring at Kanika with commiseration. “It’s ok ma’am. I am getting late, we will meet again soon” Kanika said while leaving with a box of sweets in her hands.
It had been a week since that meeting & Miss Sen was not able to forget Kanika’s face. All she could think of was that small child who had big aspirations but was forced to concede to her fate.
She decided to talk to Kanika’s parents. In the afternoon, after school, Miss Sen went to visit them.
A Teacher’s Visit
It was a hot summer season, the sun was overhead. As Miss Sen was riding her scooter a hot & dry loo was hitting her face but she did not even realise it. When she reached Kanika’s house & parked her scooter her heartbeat rose. With a long exhale she rang the doorbell. She tried to recollect her thoughts but was not sure how she would begin the conversation.
Kanika’s mother opened the door, “jii?”, she did not remember the teacher who had taught & supported Kanika in her school days. “I am Miss Sen, Kanika’s school teacher”, said Miss Sen. Kanika’s mother was trying to guess the purpose of her visit because a teacher’s visit is unusual, “Jii, please come in”, she said with a hesitant smile while recalibrating her thoughts. She called Kanika’s father & introduced Miss Sen. Kanika’s father greeted her with a namaste & they both sat down while the mother went to bring water from the kitchen. Miss Sen’s mouth was dry from the ride so she drank a full glass of water.
For a few seconds there was silence in the room, the parents were looking at each other with clueless faces. “I met Kanika last week at the sweet shop, we had a very jovial conversation. It was so good to see her after so much time. She told me she now lives in Delhi”, said Miss Sen breaking the ice. Kanika’s mother replied with a happy face “Yes, her husband’s posting is in Delhi, she is married now”. Miss Sen was startled even though she already knew that fact. “Yes she told me that but we did not find time to talk more, by the way when did she get married?” replied Miss Sen. Kanika’s mother had an enthusiastic smile on her face to answer this question, “It’s almost 2 years now, her husband is a Probationary Officer in SBI, his family is also known to us. Kanika is very lucky she got such a wonderful family!” “But as far as I know she appeared in the NEET exam after 12th, right?” asked Mis Sen. “But such a wonderful match had come our way, how could we say no?” replied the mother with a sense of pride in her eyes. Miss Sen gathered her courage & said “But she was not of marrying age at that time, was she?”
Kanika’s parents realised the seriousness of the conversation, the smile on the mother’s face slowly faded away & the father sat up in a more alert posture & said “We understand you care for Kanika Ma’am, so do we, that’s why we accepted the proposal. We know the family very well, he is their only son & that boy’s mother is a very gentle lady, Kanika & she have a Mother-Daughter relation. He earns well. The proposal came at the right time, we waited till her 12th result but as you may know, these things don’t wait long.” With a gentle exhale he concluded “And after all the most important thing is Kanika is happy now.” Miss Sen took a brief pause & simply nodded her head, she realised there was no point in arguing because he genuinely believed that waiting for the 12th result was a generous concession & that she was happy with her life. She said it was good to know Kanika was well, and got ready to leave. Kanika’s parents saw her off politely with a sense of calm & relief on their faces. Miss Sen put on her helmet, removed the stand of the scooter & took a final glance at the house, through the window of Kanika’s room she saw the apron still hanging…
What The Court Said
For her parents, the matter was simple — Kanika was happy, and that’s all that mattered. The Karnataka High Court, in its judgment yesterday, disagreed.
A minor girl of around 16 years was married to a 27-year-old man during the COVID period in 2021. Later the girl became an adult & the marriage was registered. The couple claimed they were living happily. The accused then approached the court to quash the criminal case on the ground that the marriage was now stable and consensual.
The court refused to quash the case & Justice M. Nagaprasanna made the following observation: “If such conduct were to receive judicial indulgence, the eradication of child marriage would remain an illusive aspiration.” He noted further that “Criminal liability is measured at the moment of commission, not neutralised by the subsequent domestic peace. To accept otherwise would be to convert penal law into a matter of retrospective validation through sentiment.”
This was a very important observation made by the honourable court. Kanika’s father’s argument from our story that “Kanika is happy now” is precisely the sentiment the court refused to accept as legal cover. Kanika is happy. But happiness measured only by what exists tells half the story. The other half lives in an apron hanging on a wall, in a dream that was simply never given the chance to breathe. The court’s observation cuts precisely here — criminal liability is measured at the moment of commission. At that moment Kanika was not a wife. She was a girl who had just topped her school, who was waiting for a NEET result she believed could change the conversation. That moment, & not the domestic peace that followed, is what the law must answer for.