PARDEEP KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of a bunch of 13 petitions as the common question of law and facts arise in the all the said petitions.

(2.) APPREHENDING threat to their life and liberty at the hands of the State authorities i.e. Police on the instance of their family members, a large number of young couples have approached this Court for a direction to the respondents that interference in their married life may be prohibited, taking the shelter of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Pendency of about 40 petitions for motion hearing by young couples on the cause list of this Court today is indicative of the fact that there has been remarkable change in the last few decades revolutionizing the entire outlook by bringing radical changes in the attitude and approach of the society towards various social practices, calling upon the Courts to consider the scope of the right of life and liberty invoked by the young couples of 'run away marriages' or 'rebellion marriages' performed against the wishes of the other members of the society i.e. their parents. The common features of all the above said petitions are as follows :

(3.) THE reliance has also been placed on Manish Singh v. State (Government of N.C.T.) and others, 2006(1) RCR(Criminal) 653 : 2006(1) RCR(Civil) 414 : 2006(1) Law Reports on Crimes 414 (Delhi). In the said case, considering the run away marriages, the Court quashed an FIR under Section 363 IPC where a girl of 17 years, on the verge of maturity had accompanied the boy of her own volition without any kind of enticement or inducement or force from any one was alleged to have been kidnapped, observing as follows :