Marriage of two adults can't be annulled just because man is under 21: SC

An adult couple has a right to live together without marriage, the Supreme Court said, while asserting that a 20-year-old Kerala woman, whose marriage had been annulled, could choose whom she wanted to live with.

The top court held that live-in relationships were now even recognised by the Legislature and they had found a place under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

The observations came while the apex court was hearing a plea filed by one Nandakumar against a Kerala High Court order annulling his marriage with Thushara on the ground that he had not attained the legal age of marriage.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act states that a girl can't marry before the age of 18, and a boy before 21.

Nandakumar, who had approached the top court, will turn 21 on May 30 this year.

The high court had also granted the custody of Thushara to her father after noting that she was not Nandakumar's "lawfully wedded" wife.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said their marriage could not said to be "null and void" merely because Nandakumar was less than 21 years of age at the time of marriage.

Child rapists: 76% people want death penalty for perpetrators, says Survey

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A day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to an ordinance on the death penalty for rapists who attack children, a citizen survey shows that 76 per cent of the people agree with it.

According to the survey conducted by LocalCircles, 18 per cent voted for life imprisonment without parole for convicted rapists while three per cent said it should be a seven-year jail term (which is the current law).

To catch the citizens' pulse on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, LocalCircles conducted six nation-wide polls which received more than 40,000 votes.

In the second poll, 89 per cent agreed that they want their states to pass a law that awards death penalty within six months. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh have also passed a law that awards death penalty for child rape.

In another poll, which was about engaging more women officers to register cases of sexual assault, it was found that 78 per cent citizens were in support of every district level police station to have at least one woman officer.