Source - Bar and Bench
The Supreme Court recently reiterated that the autonomy of an individual when it comes to choosing her life partner is integral to the dignity of the individual. The Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy noted that youngsters who choose to marry persons of their choice continue to face threats from elders, and that courts often come to their aid.
The Court passed the judgment in a petition filed by a Karnataka-based college lecturer against whom a missing persons case was registered by her parents. The case was lodged after the petitioner, without informing her parents, flew to Delhi to marry a man from Uttar Pradesh. A day after the police complaint was filed, the petitioner sent her parents a copy of the marriage certificate by WhatsApp.The investigating officer (IO) in the case had urged the petitioner to appear before the Murgod Police Station at Belagavi District, Karnataka. This, after the petitioner had informed the IO that she was residing with her husband, and that she was unable to visit the said police station owing to threats from her family members.
The petitioner then approached the Allahabad High Court for relief and then she approached the Supreme Court. The judgment states that the case would not have reached the Supreme Court if the IO performed his role correctly. The Bench thus directed that adequate training programmes be held for police personnel on how to handle sensitive cases.The Court thus quashed the FIR lodged against the petitioner and expressed hope that the parents will have "better sense" to accept the marriage and re-establish social interaction with their daughter and son-in-law.