Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, May 21: In a verdict in a case delivered recently relating to a couple who had a love marriage against the wishes of the girl's parents, the state high court has sounded a stern warning to parents who try to subvert the legal machinery by filing fake cases against the persons concerned. It has cautioned the parents that their children who have reached the age of majority have every right to marry persons of their choice belonging to any community or religion, and that the parents cannot use law to meet their ends just because they do not approve of this relationship.

The case relates to Santosh (24) and Zareena Begum (19), both from Dakshina Kannada district. Santosh is a bus conductor by profession, while the girl was a BBM degree course student. Santosh had married the love of his life in the presence of his friends, well-wishers, and family members on November 19, 2014, duly keeping the parents of the girl in the dark.

Feeling frustrated and seething with anger at this development, father of Zareena had filed a complaint of abduction against the youth in Ullal police station. The police had not only registered the first information report, but also filed charge sheet in the third JMFC court in Mangaluru. The youth approached the high court, seeking to quash the FIR registered against him.

Advocate for Santosh, appearing before a high court bench which took up the case, argued that this marriage happened in the presence of many close ones with the total consent of the girl. The advocate, Arun Shyam, also pointed out that the police, in spite of not being able to find any supportive documents or evidence about the abduction, had unnecessarily registered FIR and filed charge sheet. He argued that this action of the police was bad in law. He noted that because the youth and his lover belong to different religions, their freedom is being compromised, and the girl is facing threat to her life.

The high court said that it is clear from the case that the girl had married of her own accord, and that she had not been kidnapped. 'The father of the girl has misused legal provisions to register a false case against the youth. The police, without going into the genuineness of the case, acted mechanically in registering the FIR. Major girls and boys have the liberty to enter into live-in relationships and have physical relationship, and this is not a crime. A girl who is major is free to marry and live with a person of her choice, and no law forbids persons from marrying people belonging to any caste, community, or religion,' it stressed.

The bench ordered the police to make certain that in case of inter-caste marriages without the approval of families, the couple do not face harassment, violence, or threat. The police and legal implementation authorities should take steps if anyone is found to be infringing on the liberty of the couple in such cases, the bench directed.