NEW DELHI: An adult woman is free to live wherever and with whoever she wishes, the Delhi high court has said, reuniting a 20-year-old woman with her husband.
The ruling by a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar comes at a time when moves by Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states to enact laws against "love jihad" have sparked a nationwide debate on the freedom and right of an adult to marry anyone s/he chooses.
The HC directed that the woman, Sulekha, be permitted to reside with Babloo, brushing aside objections by her family who alleged that she had been kidnapped and claimed that she was a minor.
After interacting with Sulekha via video-conference and verifying that she was an adult when she left home, the court asked police to escort her to Babloo's residence.
"The police authorities shall also counsel the petitioner and the parents of Sulekha not to take the law into their hands or threaten either Sulekha or Babloo," the bench categorically directed in its order while hearing a habeas corpus filed by the sister.
The Delhi HC order comes a few days after the Allahabad HC quashed a criminal case against a man in an interfaith marriage and noted that "interference in a personal relationship would constitute serious encroachment into the right to freedom of choice of the two individuals".
The Allahabad HC had said that "courts… are enjoined to uphold the life and liberty of an individual guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India", adding that the core issue in such cases is "right to freedom of choice [of two individuals] as to with whom they would like to live".
Echoing similar reasoning, the Delhi HC highlighted that Sulekha was an adult when she willingly left her house and married a man of her choice.
"As per the status report, she was born in the year 2000, and therefore, even on the date when she went missing, she was a major. She states that she went with Babloo of her own free will and accord and that she has married him," it said.
The court directed that the mobile number of an official of the jurisdictional police station be provided to the couple to get in touch in case of need.
In her habeas corpus petition, Sulekha's sister sought her immediate production before the court. Appearing through advocate Sharad Malhotra, the sister said Sulekha went missing on September 12 and the family suspected Babloo to have been behind it.