SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the police in Poonch district to ensure the safety and security of a woman who had approached the court alleging threats and coercion linked to a forced marriage.
In an order passed on December 20, 2025, Justice Rahul Bharti disposed of a writ petition filed by a woman, who had moved the court in 2023 through her elder sister, seeking protection from alleged threats by private respondents. The petitioner had stated that she feared harm from seven respondents, alleging that she had been forcibly married and that members of the man’s family were threatening to take her away against her will.
The court noted that the petition had been instituted on February 9, 2023, when the petitioner was seventeen years old. The order recorded that she has since attained majority.
While disposing of the petition, the High Court directed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Poonch, and the Station House Officer of Police Station Mendhar to ensure that the petitioner is not subjected to any harm in any manner whatsoever, particularly in relation to the alleged forced marriage and the threats claimed to have emanated from the family of respondent number four.
The court further said that if the petitioner apprehends any threat or harassment from respondents four to ten in future, she would be entitled to approach the Senior Superintendent of Police, Poonch, with a complaint. The police officer concerned, the court said, would then be duty-bound to immediately enquire into the matter and ensure the petitioner’s safety and security.
With these directions, the writ petition was disposed of.
