M A I N   N E W S

Judicial shelter for runaway couples
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 31
Now, runaway couples will not have to tie the knot with trouble literally hanging over their heads.

Taking cognisance of the violence brought about by love marriages, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ensured judicial shelter for runaway couples by directing the district and sessions judges in the two states and Chandigarh to pass necessary orders on their plea for protection.

The directions are significant, as so far such couples have been moving the High Court for protection. In the process, many of them get manhandled, even assaulted, on the high court premises. The high court, too, is practically overburdened with their petitions for protection.

As the case came up for hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh also directed the taking up of petitions by the additional district and sessions judges in the absence of the sessions judges.

The Bench also clarified that petitions involving intricate questions of law could be referred to the high court.

The general consensus among the counsel appearing before the Bench was that the process of temporary registration of marriages should be undertaken in districts other than the ones where marriage took place. The suggestion of setting up security homes for the couples, too, found prima facie favour with the court.

The directions follow reports prepared by experts on protecting the interests of runaway couples.

Some of the suggestions include directions to the registrar of marriages to register such marriages on the basis of prima facie proof of age, identity of parties and marital status. The committee was set up by the high court to evolve a compassionate and humanitarian mechanism for redressing the grievances of runaway couples and their parents.

Among others, it comprised senior advocates Rajinder Singh Cheema, ML Sarin and Anupam Gupta. The directions for constituting the committee followed High Court’s suo-motu cognisance of rising number of cases involving runaway couples.

Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia had made it clear that the high court wanted the state to evolve a “compassionate” mechanism to redress the grievances of the couples, and the parents, and reduce backlog.

Justice Ahluwalia had even asked the Home Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh, to inform the court on the system they intended to develop.