In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court upheld a Hindu girl’s right to choose her partner and allowed her to continue her live-in relationship with a Muslim boy.
The bench consisting of Justice Bharti Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande observed that the girl was an adult and therefore even with opposition from her family and right-wing groups, like Bajrang Dal, she was free to exercise her rights.
The bench also noted that the petitioner of the case, the 20-year-old Muslim boy was not of marriageable age. The boy had filed a writ petition of habeas corpus challenging the illegal custody of the girl with a women’s home.
The girl’s parents had filed a complaint with the Ghatkopar police against the relationship after which she was produced at the police station where she refused to return to her parents’ house. She was then placed in Shaskriya Stree Bhishekari Khikar Kendra in Chembur.
The court referred to a previous Supreme Court order and said that the court should not assume the role of a super guardian “being moved by any kind of sentiment of the mother or the egotism of the father.”
The court secured the freedom of the couple by allowing their relationship but did not provide them police protection, which was also sought in the petition.
