Smt. Soni And Another vs State Of U.P. And 3 Others
2021 Latest Caselaw 6734 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
 
 

?Court No. - 36
 

 
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 13243 of 2021
 
Petitioner :- Smt. Soni And Another
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Ravindra Kumar Mishra
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
 

 
Hon'ble Mahesh Chandra Tripathi,J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State respondents through video conferencing.

By means of present writ petition, the petitioners have prayed for direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents not to interfere in their peaceful matrimonial life.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioner no.1 by birth is Hindu and now she has accepted the Muslim religion. The petitioners are major and have solemnized their marriage with each other according to Muslim Rites and Custom on 28.4.2021. He has placed his reliance to a judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Perumal Nadar v. Ponnuswami reported in LAWS (SC)-1970-3-26 in support of his submission. No F.I.R. has been registered against them.

As per notification of this Court on account of prevailing Covid-19 pandemic the clients are not permitted to enter into the court campus unless their presence is directed by the Court, as such the petitioners are not present in the Court.

Learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel, on the basis of instructions, states that in the present matter the first information report has already been registered against the petitioner no.2.

On the other hand, learned counsel for the petitioners states that earlier the petitioners have approached this Court by preferring Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No.4578 of 2021 (Smt. Soni and another vs. State of UP and 2 others) for quashing the FIR dated 3.5.2021 registered as Case Crime No.0044 of 2021 under Section 363 IPC, P.S. Raja Ka Rampur, District Etah by claiming that the victim Smt. Soni is adult and that she has voluntarily married Rukshad (petitioner no.2). A Division Bench had proceeded to dispose of the writ petition on 25.6.2021 with following observations:-

"Having perused the record, we do not find any other documentary evidence on the basis of which we could hold the victim to be an adult. As it is not provided by law that the date of birth entered in an Adhaar Card would be conclusive, and we find no document on the basis of which such entry had been made, we deem it appropriate to dispose off this petition by providing as follows:-

The petitioner no.2 shall produce the petitioner no.1 (Smt. Soni) before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate, Etah by or before 15th July, 2021. Upon her production, the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate, Etah shall proceed to record the statement of Smt. Soni to ascertain whether any force has been used on her or she has been voluntarily in the company of the petitioner no.2. In case the victim deposes before the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate that force has been used on her, the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate shall proceed to pass appropriate orders immediately in respect of the custody/protection of the victim. However, in case the victim deposes that she has been voluntarily in the company of the petitioner no.2 or any other person and that no force has been used on her, learned Magistrate shall call upon the Investigating Officer of the case and fix a date for appearance of the informant or the parents or natural guardian of the victim for the purpose of determining the age of the victim. On the date so fixed or within such reasonable time as may be required, the learned Magistrate shall proceed to determine the age of the victim as per law, keeping in mind the provisions that are applicable for determination of the age of a victim and may, if necessary, direct for ossification test/medical examination of the victim from a District Government Hospital. If the victim is found to be a minor, the learned Magistrate shall proceed to pass appropriate orders in respect of custody of the victim, as per law. However, in case the victim is found to be an adult, he shall proceed to record the statement of the victim under Section 164 Cr.P.C.

On the basis of the statement of the victim and the age of the victim as determined above, the police shall submit report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C.

The aforesaid exercise shall be completed preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of production of the victim before the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate. Till 15th July, 2021, or the date on which the victim is produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate, whichever is earlier, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners in the above case. Thereafter, if the victim is produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate/concerned Magistrate, as directed above, the accused shall be dealt with as per the statement of the victim. Though, in the event the victim is found to be minor, the police would be free to take the investigation to its logical conclusion and may effect arrest of the accused.

It is further clarified that if the victim is not produced by the date fixed as above, there shall be no protection and the investigating agency shall be free to take all steps that may be necessary to bring the investigation to its logical conclusion."

In Lata Singh vs. State of UP 2006 Cr.L.J. 3312, while dealing with a case of harassment by the parents of the boy and girl, who had entered into inter-caste marriage, Hon'ble Supreme Court has issued directions to the Administration/Police authorities throughout the country in the following terms:-

"This is a free and democratic country, and once a person becomes a major he or she can marry whosoever he/she likes. If the parents of the boy or girl do not approve of such inter-caste or inter-religious marriage the maximum they can do is that they can cut off social relations with the son or the daughter, but they cannot give threats or commit or instigate acts of violence and cannot harass the person who undergoes such inter-caste or inter- religious marriage. We, therefore, direct that the administration/police authorities throughout the country will see to it that if any boy or girl who is a major undergoes inter-caste or inter-religious marriage with a woman or man who is a major, the couple are not harassed by any one nor subjected to threats or acts of violence, and any one who gives such threats or harasses or commits acts of violence either himself or at his instigation, is taken to task by instituting criminal proceedings by the police against such persons and further stern action is taken against such persons as provided by law."

In Bhagwan Dass v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2011) 6 SCC 396 Hon'ble Supreme Court held in paragraph 28 and 29 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."

In view of the above, the writ petition is finally disposed of with the direction 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 concerned Senior Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police with a certified copy of this order, who shall provide immediate protection to the petitioners.

However, this order in no way expresses opinion about the validity of their marriage and genuineness of their marriage certificate. 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.

The petitioners shall apply for registration of their marriage before the Registrar of Marriages under Uttar Pradesh Marriages Registration Rules, 2017 within ten days from today, failing which this order stands automatically vacated.

The party shall file computer generated copy of such order downloaded from the official website of High Court Allahabad, self attested by the petitioners alongwith a self attested identity proof of the said person (preferably Aadhar Card) mentioning the mobile number to which the said Aadhar Card is linked.

The concerned Court/Authority/Official shall verify the authenticity of such computerized copy of the order from the official website of High Court Allahabad and shall make a declaration of such verification in writing.

Order Date :- 29.6.2021

RKP