The Allahabad High Court has ruled that police cannot investigate the marriage or choice of partner of two consenting adults, observing that such inquiries amount to an abuse of the criminal justice process and violate the constitutional right to personal liberty. A Division Bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena made the observation while quashing an FIR accusing a 28-year-old man of kidnapping a 26-year-old woman to compel her to marry him. The case had been registered in April under Section 87 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on a complaint filed by the woman's father. "The police have no business in the matter to be nosy parkers. They ought to investigate crimes, not marriages," the Bench observed.
The couple approached the High Court stating that they had solemnised their marriage in February and that the woman's family opposed the union. They alleged that she had been assaulted by her relatives and that both spouses had received death threats. On April 29, the court stayed the investigation and directed the police to provide protection to the couple. After examining the prosecution's status report, the Bench held that there was no basis for continuing the investigation, noting that both parties were educated adults who had entered the marriage voluntarily. The judges expressed dissatisfaction with the stand taken by the Superintendent of Police, Bhadohi, who had insisted that the investigation should continue and that the woman's statements be recorded before the investigating officer and a magistrate despite her clear statement before the High Court affirming her consent.
Holding that the police appeared to be unnecessarily prolonging the matter, the court said the liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the freedom to choose one's life partner. It observed that pursuing a criminal investigation into an adult's voluntary marriage amounted to a serious infringement of that right. Concluding that the FIR was legally unsustainable, the Bench quashed the case and imposed costs of ₹1,000 each on the Superintendent of Police, Bhadohi, and the Station House Officer of Suriyavan police station. The court also directed the woman's father to pay ₹5,000 to his daughter.