Nature of child marriage according to Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is -

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 alone, non-fulfilment of the minimum age requirement in Section 5(iii) is not specified as a ground rendering a marriage void under Section 11 or voidable under Section 12, but is punishable under Section 18(a); hence, within the framework of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, it is treated as a valid marriage that is punishable (though under Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, a child marriage is voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child).