Allahabad HC rules in favour of inter-faith couple

• The Allahabad High Court recently ruled in unambiguous terms that a woman who has reached the age of majority has the right to live her life on her own terms.

• After taking into account the fact that the woman had expressed her wish to remain with her partner, Salman, the bench of Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal went on to order police security for the safe passage of an inter-faith couple.

• Consequently, the Court set aside an order issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Etah, who handed the woman's custody to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Etah, who in turn handed the woman over to her parents.

• The Court also instructed the investigating officer(IO) to provide the pair with adequate security before they return to their place of residence.

• The Court relied on the date of birth alluded to in the school certificate, specifically claiming that the woman was born on 4 October 1999.