Madhya Pradesh High Court: G.S. Ahluwalia, J, allowed the application granting anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
In the pertinent case, the petitioners filed the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a direction for grant of protection of life, liberty and dignity, which according to them, is under threat. The petitioners are alleged to be of marriageable age based upon the date of birth, 01-03-1986 in case of petitioner 1 and 07-09-1994 in case of petitioner 2 and both the petitioners were major and voluntarily, they have performed marriage on 26-03-2019 at Arya Samaj, Lohamandi Kilagate, Gwalior. Both the petitioners have claimed themselves to be more than 18 years of age at the time of solemnization of marriage in question.
Counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance on the decision of Supreme Court in the case of Lata Singh v. State of U.P. (2006) 5 SCC 475.
Thus, the High Court held that
“if protection is sought by the petitioners against any harassment or intimidation against their life, liberty and dignity arising out of the marriage solemnized by them, the same would be granted to them by the respondents/police authorities, on verifying the factum of marriage and age in accordance with law and in terms of decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Lata Singh v. State of U.P. (2006) 5 SCC 475.”[Ravi Prakash Kushwaha v. State of M.P., 2019 SCC OnLine MP 2624, decided on 17-09-2019]