The Bombay High Court came in defence of an inter-religion couple and observed that an adult woman is "freet tomove as per her wish" in a habeaus corpus petition filed before the court.

The father of the 19-year-old woman, who married a man from another religion, had filed a Habeas corpus plea, asking for his daughter to be brought back to him.

The woman, however, had earlier told the division bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale of the Bombay High Court that she wanted to reside with her husband.

The Bombay High Court, while disposing the plea, on Tuesday stated: "We make it clear that daughter is free to move as per her wishes."

The court also ordered Thane police to escort the couple safely to their home in Kalyan area of Thane district.

"Supreme Court has said that Inter-caste marriage should be encouraged to bring homogeniality in society," the court also said while hearing the plea.

"There are 3000 sects and religion in the country. Every 25 kilometers there are different kinds of people. In this country, 130 crore people live together," Justice Shinde said while hearing the matter.

The case

The father of a 19-year-old girl had approached the Bombay High Court asking for his daughter to be produced "dead or alive". In the Habeas corpus, the father had stated that due to Covid-19 lockdown, his daughter was usually at home. With her consent, he helped his daughter get engaged to a man on December 6 last year. According to him, his daughter seemed "happy" with the engagement.

On December 30, at around 9:30 am, the girl left her parents house after informing her mother that she was visiting a tailor. However, when she did not return, so the family members started searching for her but could not find her. The family then went to register a missing case at Khadakpada Police Station. However, the Senior Police Officer did not lodge missing complaint and told the family to wait for 24 hours.

Later that day in the evening, the policemen from Khadakpada Police Station informed the family that the woman had already a man from another religion, who lived nearby, and she was living with her husband's family since then. The father had approached the Bombay High Court asking for his daughter to be brought back to him and a case to be registered against the man.

The woman had, however, told the court that she wants to reside with her husband.

The court, while hearing the matter, refused to intervene and said she, an adult woman, is "free to move" as per her wish.

Source ::

INDIA TODAY

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/adult-woman-free-to-move-as-per-her-wish-bombay-high-court-1767637-2021-02-10