Smt. Shivani Tewari & Anr. v. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Home

Petitioner :- Smt. Shivani Tewari And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Home Crime And Investigation Deptt. Lko. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sheo Prakash Singh Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Rajesh Singh Chauhan,J. Hon'ble Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J.

Heard Sri Sheo Prakash Singh, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Arun Kumar Pandey, learned AGA for the State-opposite parties no.1, 2 & 3.

Learned counsel for the petitioners has filed supplementary affidavit, the same is taken on record.

In view of the order proposed to be passed, notice to opposite party no.4 is dispensed with.

This writ petition has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus directing the opposite parties not to interfere in the peaceful marital life of the petitioners and to provide protection to them.

The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners are major and have married each other on their own volition on 24.04.2024 in the office of District Magistrate, Hauz Khas, Sauth District, Government of NCT of Delhi under Section 13 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 as recital to this effect has been given in para-8 of the writ petition enclosing therewith photocopy of marriage certificate as Annexure No.2. A photocopy of Certificate-cum-Marksheet of High School Examination has been enclosed with this petition to substantiate that petitioner no.1 is major as her date of birth is 28.10.1992. It is contended that opposite party no.4 is not happy with the marriage and as such he is creating hindrance in the peaceful married life of the petitioners. Learned counsel has further stated that no First Information Report has been registered against the petitioners in this regard.

In Lata Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another, 2006 (5) SCC 475, the Apex Court in para-17 has observed as under:- "17. .... This is a free and democratic country, and once a person becomes a major he or she can marry whosoever he/she likes. If the parents of the boy or girl do not approve of such inter-caste or inter-religious marriage the maximum they can do is that they can cut-off social relations with the son or the daughter, but they cannot give threats or commit or instigate acts of violence and cannot harass the person who undergoes such inter- caste or inter-religious marriage. We, therefore, direct that the administration/police authorities throughout the country will see to it that if any boy or girl who is a major undergoes inter-caste or inter-religious marriage with a woman or man who is a major, the couple is not harassed by anyone nor subjected to threats or acts of violence, and anyone who gives such threats or harasses or commits acts of violence either himself or at his instigation, is taken to task by instituting criminal proceedings by the police against such persons and further stern action is taken against such persons as provided by law. "

The petitioners have also pleaded for protection under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees liberty to lead life of their own with dignity.

It is made clear that if any F.I.R. is already registered on the issue, the order passed by this Court shall automatically stand discharged. [Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J.] [Rajesh Singh Chauhan, J.] Order Date :- 5.8.2025 RBS/- RAM BIR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench