WPCRL/188/2023
2023 Latest Caselaw 414 UK

      IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
                  AT NAINITAL


        THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI VIPIN SANGHI
                               AND
            THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR VERMA




          WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO. 188 OF 2023


                        17th FEBRUARY, 2023

Between:


Smt. Sakshi and another                  ......        Petitioners


and


State of Uttarakhand & others            ......        Respondents


Counsel for the petitioners   :   Mr. D.P. Mittal and Mr. Shubhr
                                  Rastogi, learned counsels

Counsel for the respondents   :   Mr. Rakesh Kumar Joshi, learned
                                  Brief Holder for the State of
                                  Uttarakhand / respondent Nos. 1
                                  and 2


The Court made the following:


JUDGMENT: (per Hon'ble The Chief Justice Sri Vipin Sanghi)



             The petitioners are present in Court, and we

have interacted with them.


2)           The petitioners have sought a direction to the

respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to provide them security as

they apprehend harm from respondent Nos. 3 to 7.
                                2




3)          The petitioners state that they are both major.

They have got married of their own free will on

05.01.2023.     Their marriage is not to the liking of the

private respondents, and the petitioners are receiving

threats from them. The petitioners have already made

their    representation   on       27.01.2023   to   the   police

authorities, but to no avail. Consequently, this petition

has been preferred.


4)          The petitioners have placed on record copies

of their Aadhaar Cards to establish the fact that they are

major.     The birth certificate of Sakshi has also been

placed on record.     The petitioner No. 2 has placed on

record his Class X school certificate, which also shows

that he is major.


5)          Since the petitioners are major, they are

entitled to take their own decisions with regard to their

matrimony, and no person has a right to interfere with

the same.


6)          We, therefore, allow this petition.       We issue

directions to respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to make an

assessment of the threat perceived by the petitioners

from respondent Nos. 3 to 7, and provide them requisite

security. Respondent No. 2 shall call respondent Nos. 3
                            3




to 7 to the police station, and counsel them not to take

the law into their own hands.


7)        Petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid

terms.


8)        Interim Relief Application (IA No. 02 of 2023)

also stands disposed of.


9)        Urgent copy of this order be supplied to the

learned counsel for the parties, during the course of the

day, as per Rules.



                                    ________________
                                    VIPIN SANGHI, C.J.



                                 _________________
                                ALOK KUMAR VERMA, J.

Dt: 17th FEBRUARY, 2023 Negi