"Love Recognises No Barriers": Bombay High Court Quotes Maya Angelou, Allows Hindu Girl To Live-In With Muslim Boy

The Bombay High Court recently quoted American civil rights activist Maya Angelou while permitting a Hindu girl to continue her 'live-in relationship' with a Muslim boy, observing that love recognises no barriers. 

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande in an order passed on December 13, ordered the release of the girl noting that she was an adult and had a right to exercise her 'right to choice.'

"Maya Angelou, an American memoirist and civil rights activist remarked 'Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.' This statement actually describe the story of the petitioner and the corpus - a major girl, but there is a fly in the ointment.Apart from the fact that they belong to different religions and their interse relationship is disapproved by the girl's family, another hindrance is that the petitioner, the boy is not of marriageable age," the order authored by Justice Dangre, reads.

The judges noted that the relationship was not only opposed by the girl's family but also right-wing groups like the Bajrang Dal. However, the was insistent in joining the company of the boy and his mother, "despite all odds and objections and the pressure to which she is subjected to, from various factions of the society including her own parents"

The judges further noted that the boy at present was 20 years old and thus was not of the 'marriageable' age and therefore, the girl and the boy decided to live in an 'live-in relationship' which would be in the 'nature of marriage' till the boy attains the requisite age.

"Necessarily all live in relationships will not amount to 'relationship in the nature of marriage', as contemplated under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, as the terminology used in the Act being relationship in the nature of marriage and not live in relationship," the court made it clear.

The bench further pointed out that after speaking to the girl, who was placed in the custody of Stree Bhishekari Khikar Kendra a Government Women Centre, at Chembur, Mumbai, she clearly expressed her thoughts that she is ready to live with the boy in a 'live-in relationship' as she is an adult and so is the petitioner and she at this stage do not express her desire to enter into a marital bond.

"It is her decision as an 'adult' that she do not intend to stay with her parents nor does she want to continue her stay with the Women Centre but she want to lead her life as a free person, who is not physically restricted or controlled by others and is able to make her own choice and decision. According to her, she is entitled for the freedom of making a choice of what is right for her and which shall not be determined by her natal parent nor by the society," the bench noted.

Though we quite see the concern of the parents, who the judges said, are interested in securing her future, but when she has exercised her freedom to make a choice, in our opinion it is not permissible for us to restrict her freedom of making the choice, which she is entitled to in law.

"The court should not assume the role of a super guardian being moved by any kind of sentiment of the mother or the egotism of the father," the bench underscored while relying on various orders of the Supreme Court in similar matters. 

The bench, therefore, ordered the release of the girl but refused to grant police protection to the couple, as prayed for. 

Appearance:

Advocates Lokesh Zade, Asif Latif Shaikh, Abid Abbas Sayyed and PS Bankar appeared for the Petitioner.

Advocates Sana Khan, Anjali Joshi and Rajesh Shirke represented the Parents.

Additional Public Prosecutor DJ Haldankar represented the State.

Case Title: ABC vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Writ Petition (Stampt) 24433 of 2024)

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 646

Click Here To Read/Download Judgment