The Gujarat High Court has recently dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by a mother, saying that an adult girl has the right to marry the person of her choice, parents cannot interfere in it. According to the case, a Hindu girl from Ramol, Ahmedabad, Gujarat had eloped with a Muslim man. After which the girl's family lodged a complaint at the Ramol police station. After running away from home, the girl reached Delhi and got married with her lover according to Hindu rituals in Arya Samaj Vedic Sanskar Trust. The girl informed her family about marrying her lover through a letter. Along with the letter, the girl had also sent the marriage certificate issued by the Arya Samaj Vedic Sanskar Trust. The letter was also accompanied by another certificate which mentioned that her lover had left Islam without any pressure, inducement and influence and accepted Hinduism. Along with this, he had also sent a similar letter to the head of the Ramol police station. In which the girl mentioned her marriage and said that she is an adult and she has married on her own free will, so the police should not register any complaint against her husband and in-laws. Thereafter, the girl and her boyfriend filed a petition in the High Court saying that they were receiving threats from the girl's family and demanded security. After hearing the petition, on the demand of the couple, the Single Judge Bench of the High Court had ordered on May 10 that the couple should be provided security. Following which the girl's mother filed a habeas corpus petition stating that her daughter was forced to marry a man of a different religion and her life was in danger. The petitioner had demanded that his daughter be freed from the illegal custody of the accused and handed over to her mother. The petition was heard by a division bench of Justice Umesh Trivedi and Justice MK Takkar. The Bench, after hearing, remarked that the documents produced by the petitioner herself before the court were sufficient to establish that the petitioner's daughter was a major and she has married of her own free will therefore it cannot be concluded that she has been abducted against her will and is in illegal custody. The court declined to issue the writ in favor of the mother, noting that the single judge bench had provided protection to the couple.
