The High Court has issued a rule questioning the constitutionality of a section of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2017, which prevents courts from taking up child marriage cases if a complaint is not filed within two years of the incident. The rule was issued on Sunday by a bench of Justice Qazi Zeenat Haque and Justice Ainun Nahar Siddiqa after a preliminary hearing on a writ petition.
Section 18 of the Act states that if a case is not filed within two years of the marriage, the court cannot take cognizance of the offense. The petition, filed by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan, argues that this time limit effectively shields perpetrators and prevents justice. In many cases, girls are married off at ages 11–14, and at that time they lack the ability, support, or legal awareness to file complaints. By the time they reach adulthood, the legal timeframe has already expired.
The writ points out that Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, according to UNICEF. Allowing offenders to avoid prosecution simply because the victim could not file a complaint within a narrow time period denies survivors their constitutional rights to equality and protection. The court has asked the Law Ministry, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, and the Home Ministry to respond within four weeks.
Child rights advocates have long argued that survivor-centered justice requires flexible, trauma-informed legal timelines. The High Court’s intervention may open the door for a crucial amendment — one that recognizes the realities of coercion, childhood vulnerability, and the social pressures that silence girls. Ensuring meaningful access to justice is essential for preventing child marriage and protecting survivors across the country
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