Court No. - 86
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 25512 of 2021 Petitioner :- Smt. Divya And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Ajay Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Umesh Kumar,J.
The petitioners have preferred this writ petition for a direction upon the respondents not to interfere in their married life and also for protection of their lives and liberty.
It is asserted by learned counsel for the petitioners that earlier petitioner nos. 1 and 2 have got married on 26.01.2020 but later on parents took petitioner no.1 and remarried with another person-respondent no.6, Neeraj on 25.02.2020 forcefully. To that effect, Complaint No.2370 of 2021 (Divya Versus Raj Kumar and others) against her family members for forcibly providing the custody of petitioner no.1 to respondent no.6 in which statement of petitioner no.1 under Section 200 Cr.P.C. has been recorded on 07.09.2021. It is averred in paragraph no.17 of the petition that since the said marriage petitioner no.1 is continuously living with the petitioner no.2 without any pressure and fear and performing her duty being his wife.
The petitioners claim that they are adults and living together out of their own freewill. It is stated that for the said reason, the private respondent and his other family members have got annoyed and there is serious danger to the lives of the petitioners as they are being threatened and harassed.
In support of their age, the petitioner no. 1 has brought on record her certificate of High School Examination-2009 and petitioner no. 2 has brought on record his Grade Sheet-cum-sheet of performance of Secondary School Examination (Session: 2011-2013), wherein the date of birth of the petitioner no. 1 is shown as 03.08.1996 and that of petitioner no. 2 as 03.02.1997. Thus, it appears from the record that both the petitioners are major but they have not applied for online registration of their marriage.
The petitioners have averred in the writ petition that they are living as wife and husband. It is stated that they have apprehension that private respondent can eliminate them for the honour of his family. In case this Court does not grant them protection, their lives may be endangered. It is averred in para-16 of the writ petition that till date no complaint or F.I.R. has been lodged against the petitioners nor they are wanted in any case including the present cause of action but respondent nos. 5 and 6 and his associates are continuously harassing the petitioners, disturbing their matrimonial life and also threatening them.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Standing Counsel for the State functionaries. In view of the order proposed to be passed, there is no need to issue notice to private respondent. With the consent of learned counsel appearing for the parties, this writ petition is being disposed of finally at this stage in terms of the Rules of the Court.
The Supreme Court in a long line of decisions has settled the law that where a boy and a girl are major and they are living with their free will, then, nobody including their parents, has authority to interfere with their living together. Reference may be made to the judgements of the Supreme Court in the cases of Gian Devi v. The Superintendent, Nari Niketan, Delhi and others, (1976) 3 SCC 234; Lata Singh v. State of U.P. and another, (2006) 5 SCC 475; and, Bhagwan Dass v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2011) 6 SCC 396, which have consistently been followed by the Supreme Court and this Court, as well as of this Court in Deepika and another v. State of U.P. and others, 2013 (9) ADJ 534. The Supreme Court in Gian Devi (supra) has held as under:
"7. ... Whatever may be the date of birth of the petitioner, the fact remains that she is at present more than 18 years of age. As the petitioner is sui juris no fetters can be placed upon her choice of the person with whom she is to stay, nor can any restriction be imposed regarding the place where she should stay. The court or the relatives of the petitioner can also not substitute their opinion or preference for that of the petitioner in such a matter."
Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view that the petitioners are at liberty to live together and no person shall be permitted to interfere in their peaceful living. In case any disturbance is caused in the peaceful living of the petitioners, the petitioners shall approach the Senior Superintendent of Police,Meerut as Superintendent of Police, Baghpat i.e. the second and third respondents, with a certified copy of this order, who shall provide immediate protection to the petitioners.
A liberty is granted to the private respondent that if the documents brought on the record are fabricated or forged, it will be open to him to file a recall application for recall of this order.
The petitioners undertake to get their marriage registered within a period of two months. If the petitioners could not get their marriage registered within the stipulated period herein above, the protection granted under this order shall stand automatically vacated.
It is made clear that this Court has not adjudicated upon the alleged marriage of the petitioners and this order in no way expresses opinion about the validity of their marriage.
However, this order would not come in way of investigation, if any,pending before the police authorities and the law will take its own course.
With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition is partly allowed. No order as to costs.
Order Date :- 25.10.2021/MN/-