Dramatic scenes at High Court amid hearing on interfaith love marriage

Staff Reporter

The premises of the High Court became the stage for a gripping spectacle on Tuesday following the hearing of an interfaith love marriage, which drew the attention of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists. Police presence swelled to maintain order as tensions ran high. The police brought a young woman before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court in response to a Habeas Corpus petition filed by a youth involved in an interfaith marriage from Ner in Yavatmal district. Upon receiving the news, a significant number of Bajrang Dal and VHP activists gathered on the High Court premises, which resulted in an escalation in police presence. The 24-year-old woman fled with the youth from another community on April 14. The woman’s parents had lodged a missing complaint with the Ner Police. The police launched searches and traced the couple on April 23. According to the in-charge of Ner Police Station, Balasaheb Naik, when he asked the girl whether she was married to the man, she stated no. As a result, the police sent the woman to the Sakhi One Stop Centre in Yavatmal, a woman welfare and care centre, on the same night. Since then, the woman has been at the centre.

When the man filed a Habeas Corpus petition before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, the court ordered the Yavatmal Police to present the woman before the court. As a result, the Yavatmal Police came to Nagpur with the woman. For the hearing, relatives of the woman and the man also came to the court. During the hearing, the woman expressed her desire to live with her man. However, upon leaving the courtroom, her mother felt dizzy, which led to an emotional scene where both women wept. Eventually, the woman declared her intention to live with her parents. As a result, the court acknowledged her choice.

The division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Vrushali Joshi acknowledged in its order that the girl voluntarily chose to live with her parents. The High Court instructed the police to provide a security escort for the girl and accompany her home. The police took the girl to the police vehicle. However, the girl started creating drama while boarding the police vehicle. The woman police officers, along with her two relatives, somehow managed to bundle the woman into the police jeep, and the vehicle left the High Court premises. Finally, the police felt a sigh of relief. Advocate Trupti Uddeshi represented the State, while Adv Akshay Joshi appeared for the woman’s parents.