'Dark Face of Society': Allahabad HC on Disapproving Parents Filing FIRs Against Grooms in Love Marriages

The Allahabad High Court recently took note of the rampant practice of parents, who disapprove of their children’s love marriages, going to the extent of filing an FIR against the groom under pressure from society. It said this revealed “the dark face of our society” and said the “social menace” is prevalent even after 75 years of independence.

The bench of Justice Prashant Kumar, while dealing with a plea to quash a criminal case by a woman’s father against her husband, observed: “This is a clear case of the dark face of our society. Even today, when children who marry on their own, their parents under their family and society’s pressure, do not approve of the marriage and go to the extent of filing FIR against the boy.”

The court expressed its “deepest anguish” and said this social menace is deeply rooted, and that “even after 75 years of independence we are witnessing such cases”.

“This is the greatest impediment in our society; but the requirement of law is that when both parties have agreed and are now happily residing as husband and wife with a small child, there cannot be any impediment in accepting this marriage,” the court held, while referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mafat Lal and another v State of Rajasthan (2022).

Referring to another judgment of the top court in the Shafin Jahan v Asokan KM (2018), the high court said: “The apex court has consistently respected the liberty of an individual who has attained the age of majority.”

Quashing the case against the applicant, the court stressed that he and his wife were happily living together and there is no useful purpose in prosecuting him. The man had approached the HC by filing an application under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, seeking directions to quash the entire proceedings in a case registered against him under sections 363 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code, and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

His counsel submitted that the applicant and his wife were happily living together as a married couple. This was supported by the wife’s counsel. Further, they said the entire case was filed by the wife’s father who was unhappy with the marriage.