After Adult Couple Marries By Choice, Gujarat HC Bars Respondents From Interfering In Their Marital Life

In brief

The question

1. Whether adult petitioners who had married by their own free will were entitled to protection from interference with their personal and marital lives.

The court held

The Court allowed the petition and made the rule absolute to the stated extent.

It also directed

It directed the respondents not to interfere with the petitioners’ personal lives or create any obstruction in their marital life.

01Facts

The petitioners sought police protection, alleging harassment and pressure by private respondents following a police Janva Jog entry; they also sought protection from being summoned or subjected to coercive action without due process

pp. 1–2

They contended that both were adults, had married of their own free will, and had registered their marriage on 26 October 2026; they relied on their Aadhaar cards and marriage certificate

pp. 2–3

The State’s counsel sought time to obtain instructions

p. 3

02Issues

i.1. Whether adult petitioners who had married by their own free will were entitled to protection from interference with their personal and marital lives.

pp. 2–4

ii.2. Whether the Court should grant the petitioners’ requested police-protection and related reliefs.

pp. 1–4

03Law Applied

The petition invoked Articles 14, 19, 21 and 226 of the Constitution and Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

p. 2

The Court relied on Lata Singh v. State of U.P. & Anr., (2006) 5 SCC 475, and Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, (2018) 7 SCC 192, in support of the principle that adults may choose their partners and lead their lives according to their choice, free from unlawful interference.

pp. 3–4

Provisions in the judgment · 1 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Section 528

04Reasoning

The Court found from the Aadhaar cards that both petitioners were adults and from the marriage certificate that their marriage had been registered.

p. 3

Accepting that they had married by their free will and consent, the Court applied the principles in Lata Singh and Shakti Vahini to conclude that they had the right to lead their lives as they chose and that the respondents should not obstruct their marital life.

pp. 3–4

Although the petition sought specific police protection and other restraints, the Court’s operative direction addressed non-interference with the petitioners’ personal and marital lives.

pp. 1–2, 4