Man elopes with male partner, wife approaches cops

Ludhiana: In a rare case, a woman from Macchiwara has lodged a complaint with the local police that her husband had eloped with a male theatre artist, after being lured by him, and both had solemnised their marriage. The 45-year-old man — a tea stall owner — who also liked doing theatre, met the artist much younger than him during one of the shows, and both fell in love with each other after a brief friendship. The woman said she had been living with her husband for the past two decades, and the couple had four daughters.
Unclear about the charges which could be imposed, if at all, the police have forwarded the complaint to the district attorney (DA) seeking his legal opinion. The police said the woman had complained that her husband and the theatre artist (almost 20 years younger) would chat with each other for hours together. When this continued for a few days, she got suspicious and brought it to the notice of other relatives. Following this, some elders tried to dissuade him, and also asked him to look after his family. However, he continued his association, which further created differences with his wife and other family members. Locals said the theatre artist would play female roles during stage shows, and would also normally dress as a woman.

Locals said that facing criticism and stiff resistance from his family and the villagers, the duo ran away from the village on March 4. According to villagers, both then posted their pictures, in which they were seen as a couple on the social media. They also called up their acquaintance, declaring they had got married to each other, and should be left on their own. When the tea-seller’s family came to know about the development, his wife approached the police with a complaint against the theatre artist.

Meanwhile, cops mentioned this was a rare complaint, in which they had to seek legal opinion before further proceeding with the probe. “This is the first complaint of its kind. For us, the key point of investigation is whether they are married or not, as according to legal provisions, same sex marriage is not allowed. But if they are not married and just living together, we are not sure what exactly the police can do in this case. Still, we would seek opinion from the district attorney in the case,” said SHO Raman Inderjit Singh.

As per directions issued by the Supreme Court, which decriminalised homosexuality by declaring Section 377 of the IPC unconstitutional, sexual activity between people of the same gender is legal, but same sex couples cannot legally marry or obtain civil partnership. “Same sex marriage is illegal, and in violation of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which is applicable to Sikhs and Hindus. However, they can have a live-in relationship, and can seek protection from the court as well,” said RS Mand, a senior advocate.

Legal expert Amit Tandon said there was no provision for punishment of same sex marriage, but in this case, if the person is married and has again married, he can be tried for adultery. Nevertheless, it is a unique case,” he said.