'Saga Of Violence, Humiliation' : Bombay High Court Directs Round The Clock Protection To Inter Caste Couple

A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and Surendra Tavade detailed in an interim order the bone-chilling "saga of violence, humiliation, rape, grievous bodily injury, and mental injury", the woman and her Brahmin husband endured since they first eloped in February 2020.

It allegedly included beating the husband's father with a cricket bat, selling the girl to another man who raped her, and coercing her into filing innumerable false cases against her husband. A crowd of 150 men from the Ahir community gathered to assault her when she visited Gujarat.

"In view of the above facts and circumstances, we are of the view that the life of the Petitioner Nos.1 and 2 (woman and man), and the family members of Petitioner No.2 (man), including two witnesses to their marriage solemnised on 24 th October, 2020 are under threat and danger, and have to be forthwith provided round the clock police protection," the bench observed.

The couple lived in Mumbai but hailed from Chaubari village in Gujarat, where the Ahir Community has a stronghold. The woman is a commerce graduate, while her husband has a management degree.

The bench noted that in May 2021, it had dismissed the man's habeas corpus petition after the woman appeared during an online hearing and made counter-allegations against her husband for owning her obscene pictures.

The woman said her father, brother, the other man she was forced to marry (sold to), and village sarpanch was present in the room at the time of the online hearing and threatened her with the community's wrath if she digressed from the tutored statements.

"This court without realising what was happening at the other end, accepted the statement of Petitioner No.1 and dismissed the Writ Petition," the court said in its order.

Last week the couple approached the Bombay High Court in a letter petition and narrated what they had endured. Realising they needed immediate protection, the court asked advocates Deepa Chawan and Manjiri Shah to draft the petition and represent the couple.

TimeLine

The couple eloped in February 2020 and returned to Mumbai 10 days later. In March 2020, the woman was forced to file a false rape case against her paramour, for which he spent 4.5 months in prison. The same month she was taken to Gujarat and engaged against her wishes.

In December, her parents returned with her to their residence in Jogeshwari. She then married her paramour on December 23. Soon after, the couple alleged that the woman's brother and maternal uncle, along with the local Shiv Sena Shakha Pramukh informed the police they were not concerned with the marriage.

The same night the husband was allegedly threatened and the woman complained to the Powai police.

On December 29, the village sarpanch and another community head visited her and asked her to return to the village in Gujarat to placate her community and avoid caste violence.

To soothe the situation, the woman said she went along with them.

However, once in the village, she was assaulted, and faced the wrath of over 150 people from the community who taunted, humiliated and abused her, she alleged.

She was forced to file another complaint against her husband at the local Bachao Police Station, and for three months, she was coerced into filing complaint after complaint.

Here, the husband also filed a police complaint in Mumbai alleging his wife's abduction, but in vain. He had approached the court in the habeas corpus plea, subsequently.

On May 24, 2021 the woman said she was forced to marry another man from her community who physically and sexually assaulted her, including injuries to her private parts and tried to use cigarette buds. In addition, he claimed to have purchased the her.

After months of torture, the woman said she finally escaped and reached Mumbai in August. On September 13, the man's father was attacked with a cricket bat and stump.

In October, her mother-in-law received a notice from the Gujarat police summoning her on her second husband's complaint alleging she had stolen Rs 7-8 lakhs worth of jewellery.

After hearing the petitoners, the court directed the Mumbai police commissioner, additional police commissioner, deputy commissioner (Zone X), the assistant commissioner and senior police inspector (Powai) to provide "round the clock" protection to the couple, husbands family and witnesses.

The court also directed the order copy to be forwarded to the DGP Gujarat, and senior inspector of Bachao Police Station and to submit the copy before any court where orders were sought against the petitioners.

The woman's father, community head, the sarpanch and the man she was forcibly married to have been directed to appear on November 10, at 2.30pm, failing which the court will pass necessary orders to ensure their presence.

Click Here To Read The Order