Uttaranchal High Court: The Division Bench of Ragvendra Singh Chauhan, CJ and Alok Kumar Verma, J., decided in the matter of a petition filed apprehending a threat to life and liberty.
The Petitioners had submitted that they had fallen in love with each other, both of them got married on 26-02-2021 as per the Muslim customs and rites and that their marriage was inter-faith. Both petitioners were found to be major. Respondents, the mother and father of petitioner 1 never accepted the marriage and threatened to kill them. The petitioner stated that they had filed a representation to the Senior Superintendent of Police for the protection of their lives and liberties but no action has been taken.
The Court concluded that since both the petitioners are major, they are free to choose their life partners, the respondent cannot be permitted to interfere with the fundamental rights of the petitioners. The Court directed the Station House Officer, Police Station Rudrapur to immediately provide police protection to both the petitioners. The Court added that “The protection shall not only be for their lives, but shall also extend to protecting their property, if any.”
[Noori Begum v. State of Uttarakhand, Writ Petition (Crl) No. 955 of 2021, decided on 22-06-2021]
Suchita Shukla, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.