Allahabad HC rejects plea from seeking protection for married woman and her lover

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea filed by a married woman and her lover, who are currently in a live-in-relationship and sought protection from her husband and family.

The court also imposed a cost of ₹ 5,000 on them, observing that the woman is already married and in live-in-relationship with another man, an act against the "mandate" of the Hindu Marriage Act.

"The Article 21 of the Constitution of India may permit a person to have own liberty but the liberty has to be within the ambit of law which applies to them," said a Division Bench comprising of Justice Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Justice Dinesh Pathak while rejecting the petition.

"We fail to understand how such a petition be allowed permitting illegality in society," said the court as the petitioners sought direction to the woman's husband and other family members not to interfere and disturb their peaceful live-in-relation by adopting coercive measures.

The court, further noting that the woman is the legally wedded wife of one of the respondents in the case, remarked, "She has for whatever reasons decided to go away from her husband, can we permit them to live-in-relation under the guise of protection of life and liberty."

The Court observed that whether her husband had committed an act which can be said to be an offence under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for which she has never complained of, all these are disputed questions of fact.

There is no FIR, it observed.

The court directed that the cost imposed on the petitioners shall be deposited by them with the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.

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