Amid Depleting Sex Ratio, Legal Battles Fought Over Daughters To Give Them Away As Brides For Monetary Consideration: Gujarat HC [Read Order]
Concerned over the depleting sex ratio in the state, the Gujarat High Court expressed its shock at the "illegal and unpalatable incidents" where "legal battles are fought over daughters, neither for protecting her nor with a desire to ensure her happiness, but only with a view that the giving away of the bride in lieu of monetary consideration become possible".Justices Sonia Gokani and...
Concerned over the depleting sex ratio in the state, the Gujarat High Court expressed its shock at the "illegal and unpalatable incidents" where "legal battles are fought over daughters, neither for protecting her nor with a desire to ensure her happiness, but only with a view that the giving away of the bride in lieu of monetary consideration become possible".
The Court recognized the fact that the corpus, who is about 23 years of age, is desirous to join the petitioner, with whom she has got married in a temple. The bench noted that while permitting her to join the petitioner,it is to be mentioned that formal seal of approval to her choice would be feasible only once the penultimate stage of her customary divorce is finalised, and it would also pave a way to her peaceful and happy life with the Petitioner.
"We have noticed certain aspects, in our conversation, which are quite disturbing and one of them is payment, purportedly, made by the petitioner to the parents of the corpus through one of the leaders of the caste of Rs.3/- lakh. According to the petitioner, the amount was given to one Babu Shiva. However, the parents of the corpus refused to have received any such amount. It is quite shockingly apparent that the areas of the State, where, there is depletion in sex ratio, more and more such illegal and unpalatable incidents are being noticed and the saddest part is that the legal battles are fought over daughters, neither for protecting her nor with a desire to ensure her happiness, but only with a view that the giving away of the bride in lieu of monetary consideration become possible", lamented the bench.
It further noted that "Malice of exchange marriages, payment of consideration to the parents of girls and changing money for marrying a girl, child marriages, multiple marriages of the girl in a very young age are some of the startling revelations noticed in the Habeas corpus Petitions"
The bench had ordered the corpus to be dropped at the address of the petitioner with police protection, requiring the police protection to continue for two months.
The bench also required the District Legal Services Authority to guide the Corpus including in relation to the provision and process under Section 13(B) of the Hindu Marriage Act and if desired by her, to be completed since the corpus is already separated for a long time and the parents have not completed the last leg of rituals only with a view to ensure that she does not get settled as per her wish. "It is unfortunate that the daughter is pressed into this kind of hazards because of the depleting sex ratio", said the bench.
[Read Order]