CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court has ordered the senior superintendent of police in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district to provide protection to a couple in a live-in relationship and whose plea for protection was turned down by the Punjab and Haryana high court after observing that such a relationship was not “morally or socially acceptable.” In its order, the apex court has specifically told the Punjab police to ensure protection to the couple who may be facing threats “in view of HC observations.” A single bench of the high court headed by Justice H S Madaan, in its order dated May 11, had refused to grant protection to the couple observing that the petitioners in the garb of filing the present petition are seeking a seal of approval for their live-in-relationship, “which is morally and socially not acceptable”.
“… The SSP is required to act expeditiously in accordance with the law, including the grant of any protection to the petitioners in view of the apprehensions/ threats, uninfluenced by the observations of the high court,” ordered the top court.
A Supreme Court division bench, comprising Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Ajay Rastogi, these orders on Friday while hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Gurwinder Singh and Gulza Kumari from Tarn Taran district.
The couple had approached the top court after their plea for protection was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana HC on May 11.
Couple’s plea: Threat to life increased after observations In their SLP before the apex court, the couple had argued that threat to their life had been increased after the HC observations regarding the status of their live-in-relationship.
They had even submitted a representation to the Punjab police for protection but the same was denied in view of the HC observations and order dated May 11.
The petitioner couple has been living together and intends to get married shortly.
However, they apprehend danger to their lives from the woman’s parents.
Their counsel also claimed that the woman’s Aadhar card and some other necessary documents were in possession of her family and that is why they could not get married.
Both of them are adults, with the woman being 19 years old and the man 22 years old.
Importantly, after finding some divergent views of different benches of the Punjab and Haryana high court regarding providing protection to the runaway couples in a live-in relationship, the matter has been referred to a larger bench of the high court.
There has been a lot of debate in the legal fraternity on the issue of protection to the couples in live-in relationships.