Article 21 protects adults’ right to marry or live with person of choice: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has observed that, protected by the Constitution under Article 21, an adult has the right to solemnize their marriage or choose to live with the person of their choice, reported Live Law.

A judicial magistrate was chastised by a bench while hearing a plea of a 21-year-old woman challenging a first information report against her husband on charges of abduction. The bench was made up of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal for sending a woman (petitioner no. 1) to her uncle’s house after the uncle (respondent no. 3) filed a formal complaint against her husband (petitioner no. 2). According to Live Law, the lady made a declaration under Section 164 of the CrPC in which she indicated fear for her life if transferred to her uncle’s or parent’s home. Nevertheless, the magistrate had ordered her to her uncle’s house.

The Allahabad High Court declared in its June 7 ruling that the judicial magistrate, in front of whom Petitioner No. 1 claimed she was afraid for her life because her uncle had threatened her, was “duty-bound” to file a formal complaint against the uncle and to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and life of the first petitioner.

Highlighting that “honor killing in such matters is not an unknown phenomenon”, the court added that the superintendent of police, Siddharth Nagar, and the SHO, Police Station-Bansi, district-Siddharth Nagar, were “equally answerable” for failing to take action against the woman’s uncle by registering an appropriate FIR and safeguarding the woman’s life and security.

The woman’s uncle filed a complaint following her marriage, leading to the filing of the first information report in the Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The spouse of the woman was detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police. Even when the petitioner expressed concern that her life would be in danger in her uncle’s home, she was nevertheless sent there.

On April 17, the woman and her spouse tied the knot in Telangana. A formal certification issued on April 25 by the Telangana State Waqf Board made their marriage official. The lady and her spouse are adults, and the court observed that they have the right to live together or to formally enter into marriage. The Constitution’s Article 21, which protects the right to life and personal liberty, guarantees this. The bench further declared that all proceedings in the case were unlawful since the woman’s uncle lacked the authority to file the complaint. The initial information report against the woman’s husband was overturned by the High Court.

“This matter has a slightly serious angle to it, because petitioner no.1 [the woman] in her statement under Section 164 CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure], has expressed an apprehension that she would be done to death,” the order said.

The judgment added: “This issue is quite independent of the issue of matrimony that the parties have entered into. No citizen can kill another for holding a different opinion and it is the foremost duty of the state to preserve human life.” The panel stated that the legal officer ought to have booked the guy when the lady informed the magistrate that she feared for her life while under her uncle’s care, according to Live Law. The panel concluded that the magistrate had a duty to protect the woman. The petitioners filed to the high court, contesting the FIR.

An adult is free to marry or live with the person of their choice, and no one, not even their parents or anybody acting on their behalf, can restrict that freedom. The Allahabad High Court made a similar decision last year.

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