The High Court on Monday issued a suo moto rule seeking explanation as to why public representatives of union council, city corporations and municipalities would not be held responsible for child marriages in their respective areas.

The court also wanted to know why legal action would not be taken against union council chairmen, ward members in union councils and ward commissioners in city corporations and municipalities for each incident of child marriage taking place in their respective areas, reports the UNB.

A bench of Justice Kazi Reza-Ul Haque and Justice Mohammad Ullah issued the rule.

Public Administration, Local Government, Law, Home, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs secretaries and Inspector General of Police have been asked to respond to the rule in four weeks.

The court also asked the secretaries to the Public Administration and the Women and Children Affairs ministries to send a copy of the HC rule to all the deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers.

The court issued the rule after taking cognisance of a report headlined '8 child marriages prevented in 24 hours' published in a national daily on October 28.