SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has directed police authorities in Bandipora to provide protection to a couple who approached the court claiming threat and harassment from family members after marrying against their wishes.
Justice MA Chowdhary passed the order on May 22, 2026.
The petitioners, Sameer Hussain Qureshi, a resident of Chathibandi Bandipora, and Saleema Akhter of Aragam Bandipora, through advocate Ishtiyaq Ahmad Mir, submitted before the court that both were majors and had solemnised marriage on May 2, 2026 according to Muslim Personal Law, rites and customs.
They told the court that they were apprehending physical violence and harassment at the hands of relatives because the marriage had been contracted against the wishes of their families. The couple sought protection and security cover from the police authorities.
After hearing the matter and perusing the record, the court observed that the right of two consenting adults to choose each other as life partners is protected under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Justice Chowdhary observed that once two adults agree to enter into wedlock, “consent of family or community or clan is not necessary.”
The court observed: “When two adults, consensually, choose each other as life partners, it is the manifestation of their choice that is recognized under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.”
Emphasising the constitutional protection available to individual liberty and choice, the court further observed: “The choice of an individual is an extricable part of dignity, for dignity cannot be thought of where there is erosion of choice and no one shall be permitted to interfere in the fructification of the said choice.”
The court also held that constitutional courts are duty-bound to safeguard individual liberty and dignity.
“It is the obligation of the Constitutional Courts as the sentinel on qui vive to zealously guard the right to liberty of an individual,” the order said.
Disposing of the petition, the court directed the official respondents, including the Director General of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police Bandipora and SHO Police Station Aragam, to provide adequate protection to the petitioners in accordance with law and in light of the Supreme Court judgments in Lata Singh v. State of U.P. and Shakti Vahini v. Union of India.
The court, however, clarified that the police authorities would first verify whether both parties were majors and whether the marriage had been solemnised in accordance with the prevailing laws.
The order further stated that if any FIR was registered against either of the petitioners, the police would be free to proceed with the investigation in accordance with law.
The court also clarified that disposal of the petition would not amount to authentication of the marriage or determination of the age or majority status of the petitioners, which would remain subject to fulfilment of legal requirements under the applicable laws.
