Supreme Court allows Hindu girl to stay away from husband

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to annul a 26-year-old girl’s marriage only on the ground that it was performed without her consent, but allowed her to stay away from her husband and his family.

A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud passed this order after the Bengaluru-based girl, who appeared in the court informed that she was not willing to go with her husband or to his family as the marriage was performed without her consent. She also told the court that she wanted to go back to Bengaluru to take up a job.

The Bench after hearing senior counsel Indira Jaising for the girl, whose name was withheld by the court, and senior counsel Basavaraj Patil for the husband’s family recorded an undertaking that all her certificates and documents in the possession of husband would be returned to the girl’s counsel. The Karnataka police was asked to accompany her to Bengaluru from Delhi where she is now under the care of Delhi Commission for Women.

Observing that it is only a voidable marriage, the court while refusing to annul the marriage said it would be open to the girl to file appropriate petition before the competent court in Karnataka to seek her remedy.   

The court was informed that the girl’s marriage was performed in Gulbarga in Karnataka on March 14 this year without her consent in a politician’s family. As she refused to live with her husband, she faced threat to her life from her family and she had come down to Delhi and was staying in the custody of Delhi Commission for Women.

In her petition, the girl pointed out that even prior to the marriage, both the bridegroom and her family were informed that she was not consenting to the marriage. On the date of marriage, she sent an ‘SMS’ to the additional superintendent of Police seeking his intervention.

Though the police came she was threatened by the family not to oppose the marriage, the girl informed.