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Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court orders protection for adult couple married against family wishes

Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazami was hearing a plea of a couple seeking protection and security from the state authorities against their relatives.

3 min readNew DelhiDec 18, 2025 05:44 PM IST

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court said when two adults marry out of their volition they feel that it is their goal. (Image generated using AI)

Coming to the rescue of a couple that married against their family’s wishes, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has directed the state authorities to provide protection to the “adults” who married out of “volition”.

Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazami was hearing the plea of the couple seeking directions to the state authorities to grant them protection from the estranged family members.

“When two adults marry out of their volition, they choose their path; they consummate their relationship; they feel that it is their goal and they have the right to do so,” the order passed on December 12 said.

The court observed that it could be “unequivocally” said that the couple had the right and any infringement was “a constitutional violation”.

“The petitioners are major and have contracted marriage according to Muslim Personal Law, rites and customs,” it added.

The court referred to Lata Singh v. State of UP, and Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, and directed the authorities to provide adequate protection to the life and liberty of the petitioners.

“However, this shall not prevent the state from carrying out the investigation of a case which may be registered against the petitioners in respect of any other incident,” the order clarified.

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Also Read | ‘Must protect liberty even in absence of valid marriage’: Punjab and Haryana High Court shields runaway couple

‘Faced physical violence’

The couple claimed they had married in March out of their free will and were living as man and wife. Disgruntled by their decision, however, their family members used physical violence and harassed them.

The couple, therefore, moved the high court seeking protection from their relatives.

In a similar case in November, Justice Kazmi granted protection to a couple and said, “Consent of family or community or clan is not necessary once two adult individuals agree to enter into wedlock and their consent has to be piously given primacy.”

Also Read | ‘Protecting married people wanting to be in live-in relationships will encourage wrongdoers’: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Other high courts

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed the police to take “necessary steps” to protect a couple from threats who were in a live-in relationship.

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Justice Subhas Mehla noted that the fundamental right to life stands at such a high pedestal that it must be protected even in the absence of a valid marriage between the parties.

“The fundamental right to life and liberty is so sacrosanct and stands at such a high pedestal that it must be protected even in the absence of an incident like solemnisation of a valid marriage between the parties,” the order said.

The court made this observation while dealing with a plea seeking protection of a couple from physical violence and harassment by their relatives.

Jagriti Rai

Jagriti Rai works with The Indian Express, where she writes from the vital intersection of law, gender, and society. Working on a dedicated legal desk, she focuses on translating complex legal frameworks into relatable narratives, exploring how the judiciary and legislative shifts empower and shape the consciousness of citizens in their daily lives. Expertise Socio-Legal Specialization: Jagriti brings a critical, human-centric perspective to modern social debates. Her work focuses on how legal developments impact gender rights, marginalized communities, and individual liberties. Diverse Editorial Background: With over 4 years of experience in digital and mainstream media, she has developed a versatile reporting style. Her previous tenures at high-traffic platforms like The Lallantop and Dainik Bhaskar provided her with deep insights into the information needs of a diverse Indian audience. Academic Foundations: Post-Graduate in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), India’s premier media training institute. Master of Arts in Ancient History from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), providing her with the historical and cultural context necessary to analyze long-standing social structures and legal evolutions. ... Read More