Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 31, 2022 AT 15:20 IST
Recently, the Jabalpur Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the right of an inter-faith couple to stay together through marriage or in a live-in relationship and observed that moral policing cannot be allowed in matters where two major adults have willingly decided to live together whether by way of marriage or in a live-in relationship.
Single-Judge Bench of Justice Nandita Dubey was hearing a Habeas Corpus Writ Petition of Guljar Khan, a 27-year-old resident of Gorakhpur in Jabalpur, praying the Court to Order the release of his wife, who has been forcibly taken to Banaras by her parents and was illegally detained there. The two had eloped to Mumbai and then got married in a Bandra court on December 28. The Petition also stated that the wife, who had attained 18 years of age had willingly converted to Islam.
The 19-year-old wife appearing via video conference stated before the Court that she had willingly married the Petitioner and was never forced into conversion and that everything done by her was as per her own wishes. She further expressed her willingness to live with her husband. She also informed the Court that she was forcibly taken to Banaras by her parents and was threatened and beaten to give a statement against her husband.
Government Advocate Priyanka Mishra opposed the plea and argued that the marriage was in contravention of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion (MPFR) Act 2021 and thus shall be declared null and void.
After hearing the submissions of both the parties, Justice Nandita Dubey observed, “The corpus is a major person. Her age is not disputed by any of the parties. The Constitution gives a right to every major citizen of this country to live her or his life as per her or his own wishes. Under the circumstances, the objection raised by the Counsel for the State and her prayer to send the corpus to Nari Niketan is rejected.”
The High Court directed the concerned authorities to hand over the wife to the Petitioner and to see that the petitioner-husband and the wife reach their house safely. Further, a direction was given to the Police authorities to ensure the two are not threatened by the parents of the wife.