New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): The Supreme Court Monday united a young couple after the woman, the daughter of a Rajasthan High Court judge, said she was facing resistance from her family as the man she wanted to marry was from a different caste.
The apex court bench of Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice C. Nagappan directed the station house officer of Gandhinagar in Jaipur to hand over custody of Supriya Rathore to Siddharth Mukharjee, the boy she wanted to marry.
Supriya Rathore told the court that she wanted to marry Mukharjee and leave with him right from the precincts of the apex court.
In the previous hearing, the court had directed the SHO of Gandhinagar to present the girl in court as Mukharjee in his plea had sought her presence.
Supriya Rathore's father Justice R.S. Rathore is a judge of the Rajasthan High Court.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Dattu asked Supriya Rathore if she wanted to make a statement and assured her that she would be protected at any cost.
In her statement before the court, Supriya Rathore said she had no ill will against her parents and they have treated her well. But she would like to marry Siddhartha Mukharjee and leave with him right from the precincts of the apex court.
In its order, the court said: "She does not have any ill will/complaint against R-3 (Justice Rathore). She further stated that she intended to marry the petitioner. The SHO is asked to give her custody to Siddhartha Mukharjee."
The court also said Supriya Rathore can choose any one of her choice to marry and allowed her to knock the doors of the top court if the "petitioner or any other person caused any inconvenience to her in future".
The court also noted that the statement by Supriya Rathore that she was an adult has not been contested by any one.
In the beginning of its order, the court had said that in normal circumstances, the apex court would have directed the petitioner to go to the Rajasthan High Court since the allegations pertained to that state.
However, a statement was made that since the girl's father was a judge of the high court, the petitioner may not get appropriate relief. The apex court then passed an order asking the SHO Gandhinagar to present the girl.