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With woman already married, Allahabad HC refuses police protection to ‘live-in’ couple
The court observed that freedom of one person cannot encroach or overweigh the legal right of another person
The Allahabad high court refused to grant police protection to a couple claiming to be in a live-in relationship as it noted that the woman was still the legally wedded wife of another man and “freedom of one person cannot encroach or overweigh the legal right of another person”.
The court said that no law-abiding citizen, who is already married under the Hindu Marriage Act, can seek protection of this court for an illicit relationship, which is not within the purview of the social fabric of this country.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh, while dismissing the writ petition filed by one Sonam and her live-in partner on November 7, observed that while no one can interfere in the lives of two adults, the right to freedom or right to personal liberty is not an absolute or unfettered right and that the freedom of one person ends where the statutory right of another person starts.
“A spouse has statutory right to enjoy the company of his or her counterpart and he/she cannot be deprived of that right for the sake of personal liberty and no such protection can be granted to infringe statutory right of the other spouse, hence, the freedom of one person cannot encroach or overweigh the legal right of another person”, the court observed.
In this case, the woman and her live in partner (petitioner no. 2) moved the HC seeking a mandamus restraining the police and the woman’s husband from interfering in their peaceful life and for a direction to provide protection.
The state government counsel opposed the plea on the ground that the woman was already legally married and had not obtained divorce from her husband. Refusing protection to her, the bench said if she has any differences with her husband, she has to first get separated from her spouse as per the law.
The court in its order said that directing the police to grant protection to them may indirectly give our assent to such illicit relations. “It is well settled law that writ of mandamus cannot be issued contrary to law or to defeat a statutory provision including penal provision. The petitioners do not have legally protected and judicially enforceable subsisting right to ask for mandamus,” the court observed.
