Months after court granted them police protection, Jabalpur interfaith couple’s marriage application rejected

On Monday, the woman appeared at the Marriage Registrar’s court under police protection and signed the order. After spending half an hour in the court, she was escorted out of the Collectorate under police security. The woman will return to a police shelter home as the couple considers their next move.

“The applicant must have resided in the area for a continuous period of not less than 30 days immediately preceding the date of the notice,” Gaur’s order said.

According to the order, the man “has not resided in Sihora, District Jabalpur, for a continuous period of not less than 30 days immediately preceding the date of the notice. Instead…(he) has been living outside Jabalpur for the past 10 years, working in Indore. Therefore, it is clear that the applicant did not fulfil the requirement of residing in Sihora for a continuous period of 30 days immediately preceding the date of the notice of intended marriage.”

“As a result, the application submitted by the applicants for solemnizing their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, is not eligible for consideration and is dismissed at this level,” the order read.

In October last year, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted police protection to the couple and observed that “every citizen has a fundamental right in this country” to take decisions regarding their personal life.

The court had at the time directed that the man also be given protection and that he be taken by a police party to an undisclosed location for his safety.