“Why do you need police protection to get married?”: Gujarat HC to state in interfaith couple matter

On the morning of May 7, the marriage registration office in Ahmedabad witnessed dramatic scenes. As word spread that a young Hindu-Muslim couple would appear there to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, despite objections from the woman’s parents, alleged members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal staged protests on the office premises. Police scrambled to manage the situation. And when the dust settled, the marriage registrar postponed the registration, citing the need for police protection. The couple, who had come not only to exercise a constitutional right but also to comply with the High Court directions issued in March, had left empty-handed.

On Friday, a Special Division Bench of Justice NSS Gowda and Justice DM Vyas did not mince words as they questioned the “helplessness” of the authorities empowered by law in the matter. In open court, Justice Gowda verbally said, “It’s going to get worse, I think… Do you need police protection for this? I don’t seem to understand– why do you need police protection to get married? They are two adults.”

What court said

The court expressed its displeasure at the delay and stated that it had already spent considerable time satisfying itself while hearing the original habeas corpus plea filed by the man in March that the woman was acting of her own free will and was under no illegal confinement.

The bench orally said, “This is the reason why we didn’t close the matter… there must be a better behaviour than this. We spent a lot of our time to satisfy that there is nothing… you are holding the court to ransom. We did not want do anything that is harsh on anybody. We understand the pain of the parents but they have certain rights… it cannot be disregarded. You may feel that it is immoral…”

The court sent out a stern warning that it had only two choices in the matter– to either summon the Principal Secretary personally or to pass orders that would ‘deem the marriage registered’. Public Prosecutor Hardik Dave assured the court that direct instructions would be conveyed to senior officers of the Ahmedabad police to ensure the compliance and registration of marriage on Friday.

On Friday evening, under police protection, the couple’s marriage was solemnised at the marriage registrar’s office, officials told The Indian Express.

March 9 order

The High Court had on May 1 issued strict instructions to comply with its March 9 order, when it had directed the 22-year-old man and the 21-year-old woman to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.

The Indian Express had, on March 10, reported the Gujarat HC order in the case that had begun as a habeas corpus petition filed by the man seeking to be reunited with his live-in partner, who had been placed in a women’s protection home. The two had grown up in the same neighbourhood in a North Gujarat district, fallen into a relationship, and chose to build a life together. What followed was a courtroom journey of affidavits, financial safeguards and undertakings. The petitioner had given an undertaking and agreed to deposit Rs 3 lakh in the name of his partner, with the interest to be disbursed exclusively to her, as a guarantee of her financial security.

The Gujarat High Court, exercising both its protective and its facilitative jurisdiction, had directed authorities to process the couple’s marriage application and ensure it was solemnised within six weeks. On Friday, the court said orally, “We imposed certain security conditions, to satisfy that the girl’s life is not in jeopardy… We were satisfied.”

The court will now sign the final order in the matter next week, sources said.