Allahabad HC says Islam does not recognise premarital sex, junks couple’s plea

Allahabad high court dismissed a plea by an interfaith live-in couple who had sought protection from alleged police harassment, citing that sexual acts before marriage are prohibited in Islam. The court stated that writ jurisdiction is not made to resolve such disputes between private parties and urged for social intervention to uproot such social problems. The court also observed that any sexual, lustful, affectionate acts such as kissing, touching, staring etc before marriage are considered parts of Zina and are not permissible in Islam.

Observing that in Islam sexual acts before marriage are prohibited, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has dismissed a plea by an interfaith live-in couple who had sought protection from alleged police harassment.

The petitioners were a 29-year-old Hindu woman and a 30-year-old Muslim man who are living together. (For Representation)

“The petitioners have not stated anywhere in the writ petition any specific instance of the police coming and knocking their doors or taking them to the police station,” observed the court while dismissing the petition.

Recently, a division bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Narendra Kumar Johari observed: “Writ jurisdiction being extraordinary jurisdiction is not made to resolve such type of dispute between two private parties.”

“We believe that it is a social problem which can be uprooted socially and not by the intervention of the Writ Court in the garb of violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India unless harassment is established beyond doubt,” the court said.

The petitioners were a 29-year-old Hindu woman and a 30-year-old Muslim man who are living together. The court made these observations while hearing the protection plea (against alleged police harassment) filed by the interfaith couple.

“In Muslim law no recognition can be given to sex outside marriage,” the court observed. “‘Zina’ which has been defined as any sexual intercourse except that between husband and wife includes both extramarital sex and premarital sex,” the court said.

“Such premarital sex is not permissible in Islam. In fact, any sexual, lustful, affectionate acts such as kissing, touching, staring etc are ‘Haram’ in Islam before marriage because these are considered parts of Zina,” the court observed.

The court further said punishment for such offence in Quran is hundred lashes for the unmarried male and female and stoning to death. “We cannot allow the petitioners to raise disputed questions of fact under Writ jurisdiction as it would be a wrong assumption of such extraordinary jurisdiction. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed,” the court ordered.

“In case, the petitioners approach the appropriate court of law or the police authority concerned raising their grievances, the same may be considered in accordance with law,” the court said.