The Bombay High Court has said that a Hindu woman who has decided to marry a Muslim man who has not reached the age of marriage, will be allowed to make her own decision. The court also asserted that there is no question about whether anyone will get custody of the woman, who is currently being kept in a shelter home in Mumbai.
“We can only wish him luck,” said a bench of judges Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande. The court added, “We will only release him. Let him do what he wants to do”.
This 20-year-old woman currently lives at the Government Women’s Center (Hostel) in Chembur, where she was sent by the court following a complaint registered by her father after he left and started living with the 19-year-old man.
After the complaint, the girl was called to the police station, where Bajrang Dal members, along with her family members were present. The police are said to have tried to threaten him and force him to leave the relationship, according to the Muslim man’s request.
Despite this pressure, the girl expressed her desire to marry the suitor and refused to return to her parents. As a result, he was sent to an asylum.
The suspect then filed a habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court, demanding that he be released from the asylum. On the other hand, the woman’s father, represented by advocate Sana Raees Khan, also sought permission to raise her.
Advocate Khan was allowed by the court to speak to the woman. On Friday, he submitted before the bench that he met the woman on Thursday for an hour and that she seemed “funny”.
“He once said that he was determined to live with his parents, he talked about running away, but later he said that he wanted to live with the suitor,” said Khan. “His hands were shaking, and he did not seem to be stable. His choice does not seem to be free from external pressure and improper influence. In such a situation, it does not seem that he made an informed decision. His freedom and his will must not be separated from the public harmony, due to the number of decisions of the Supreme Court”.
Khan suggested that the woman and the applicant, who will reach marriageable age in October 2025, wait about two years before deciding on marriage.
The lawyer also stated that the woman’s father is ready to establish his hairdressing business and he will allow her to talk to the applicant on the phone for the next two years, after which he will make a decision about his life. Khan also pointed out that if the woman insists on her decision to go with the applicant now, the father will disown her.
In this regard, the bench observed, “Obviously, there should be a lot of public pressure”.
The bench went on to say that since the woman was old, there was no question that someone would find her. “We will only release him. Let him do what he wants to do,” said the bench.
An order detailing the appeals, along with the reasons, will be passed by the bench.
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