PRAYAGRAJ: Canceling a FIR that accuses a young Muslim from Etah of the UP of kidnapping and inducing a Hindu girl inside marriage, the Allahabad High Court It has brought the interfaith couple together on the basis that a girl who has proven to have come of age and who wishes to live with the person of her choice has the right to lead life on her own terms.
The order was issued in response to a writ of habeas corpus filed by the husband, Salman aka Karan, saying that his wife Shikha had been separated from him against his wishes and given to his parents by Etah’s child welfare committee.
When presented to the dividing bank of Magistrates Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal a few days earlier, the girl had presented proof that her date of birth was October 4, 1999 and informed the court that she married Salman of her own free will.
The court ordered the Prayagraj SSP to ensure adequate protection for Shikha and her husband until they returned safely to their residence. The ruling also made a scathing observation of how Etah’s chief judicial magistrate demonstrated “lack of recognition of the legal provisions” by handing over custody of Shikha to the child welfare committee on December 7. The committee, in turn, managed to get the girl’s parents to take her homecoming against her wishes.
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