Allahabad High Court
Smt. Suman Devi & Another vs State Of U.P. & 4 Others on 10 October, 2014
Bench: Surya Prakash Kesarwani
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 1
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 54176 of 2014
Petitioner :- Smt. Suman Devi & Another
Respondent :- State Of U.P. & 4 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- K.K. Upadhyay
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Surya Prakash Kesarwani,J.
1.Heard K.K.Upadhyay, learned counsel for the petitioners and Seema Shukla, learned Standing Counsel for the State-respondents.
2.Both the petitioners are present in the Court and they have been identified by their learned counsel. Both the petitioners appear to be major.
3.In paragraph no.6 of the petition it is stated that the petitioner no.2 is aged about 22 years and as per vote Identity Card his year of birth is 1992. It is stated that the date of birth of the petitioner no.1 is 15.7.1994 as per High School Certificate-Cum- Marksheet year 2013, a copy of which has been filed as Annexure-1. It is stated in paragraph no.7 that both the petitioners have married with each other on 28.9.2014 by their own free will at Arya Samaj, Aligarh in presence of the relatives of petitioner no.2. In paragraph-8 of the petition it is stated that no FIR has been lodged by respondent no.5 till date.
4.The petitioners claim to be adult and married to each other of their own freewill, and for that they are being threatened and harassed.
5.In the case of Deepika and another Vs. State of U.P. and others, 2013 (9) ADJ 534, this Court having analysed the law laid down by the Apex Court as well as by this Court in the cases cited in the judgment, held that where a boy and a girl are major and they are living with their free will, then, nobody including their parents, has no authority to interfere with their living together.
6.In the said case the Court also relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Bhagwan Dass v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2011) 6 SCC 396. It is apt to extract relevant paragraph 28 and 29 of the said judgment, which reads as under :-
"28. ..... Often young couples who fall in love have to seek shelter in the police lines or protection homes, to avoid the wrath of kangaroo courts. We have held in Lata Singh case that there is nothing "honourable" in "honour" killings, and they are nothing but barbaric and brutal murders by bigoted persons with feudal minds. In our opinion honour killings, for whatever reason, come within the category of the rarest of rare cases deserving death punishment. It is time to stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our nation. This is necessary as a deterrent for such outrageous, uncivilised behavior. All persons who are planning to perpetrate "honour" killings should know that the gallows await them.
29.Let a copy of this judgment be sent to the Registrars General/ Registrars of all the High Courts who shall circulate the same to all the Judges of the Courts. The Registrars General/ Registrars of the High Courts will also circulate copies of the same to all the Sessions Judges/ Additional Sessions Judges in the States/Union Territories. Copies of the judgment shall also be sent to all the Chief Secretaries/ Home Secretaries/ Directors General of Police of all States/ Union Territories in the country. The Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police will circulate the same to all SSPs/SPs in the States/Union Territories for information."
7. In view of the above, the writ petition is finally disposed of with a direction that petitioners are at liberty to live together. 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 concerned Senior Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police with a certified copy of this order, who shall provide immediate protection to the petitioners.
8. However, this order in no way expresses opinion about the validity of their marriage. This order shall not protect the petitioners against any action or proceedings pursuant to any F.I.R. or complaint case against him/her/them.
Order Date :- 10.10.2014
Ak/
