The Assam government’s recent spate of arrests in child marriage cases has drawn tough questions from the Gauhati High Court, which has flagged the inclusion of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, a stringent law protecting children from sexual crime, in the cases.

The Gauhati High Court on Tuesday granted bail to 9 men, who have been charged under the POCSO Act.

"POCSO you can add anything. What is the POCSO [charge] here? Merely because POCSO is added, does it mean judges will not see what is there? We are not acquitting anyone here. No one is preventing you to probe," Justice Suman Shyam said, according to ndtv.com.

The court observed that the wave of arrests has created havoc in the lives of ordinary families and the investigation can carry on without the need of custodial interrogation.

Over 3,000 people, who have been directly or indirectly associated with child marriages, have been remanded in temporary jails, which has sparked protests from women across Assam.

The Assam Police had launched the crackdown on child marriages on February 3. On the basis of 4,135 FIRs registered across the state, almost 2,000 people including Hindu and Muslim priests who officiated these weddings, were arrested within the first two days.

The clampdown has been spearheaded by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government as a measure to remedy the state’s poor health metric. The Chief Minister had referred to the data published by the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal, which states that nearly 17 per cent of over 6.2 lakh pregnant women in Assam last year were teenagers.

"The drive against this social evil will continue. We seek the support of the people of Assam in our fight against this social crime," the Chief Minister had said.

Opposition parties and social activist groups have slammed the arrests, terming it as an overreach by the law and administration. The police action has also been viewed as terrorizing and punitive as arrests have been made on cases, which date back years.