Smt. Nishtha Katiyar and Another v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. of Home Lko. and Others

Court No. - 10 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 9640 of 2024 Petitioner :- Smt. Nishtha Katiyar And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. Of Home Lko. And Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Rohit Upadhyay,Pranvesh Awasthi Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Vivek Chaudhary,J. Hon'ble Om Prakash Shukla,J. Heard learned counsel for petitioners and learned A.G.A. for the State. By means of this writ petition the petitioners have prayed for issuance of a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the opposite parties not to disturb and interfere in the matrimonial life of the petitioners and further not to harass the petitioners. It is stated by learned counsel for the petitioners that petitioner nos.1 and 2 are major and have married with each other by their own free will on 28.10.2024 as per Hindu Rites and Rituals in Arya Samaj Mandir, Aliganj, Lucknow. Petitioners have also registered their marriage before the Marriage Registration Authority. The copy of the marriage certificates issued by the Arya Samaj Mandir as well as Marriage Registration Officer have been annexed as Annexure No.1 collectively to the writ petition. Further contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that on the date of their marriage i.e. on

28.10.2024, petitioners were of the age of majority. It is stated that there is no F.I.R. lodged against petitioners as on date. Learned counsel for petitioners has invited our attention to the High School Marksheet-cum-certificate of the petitioner no. 1 in which her date of birth is shown as 08.06.1992 and as per High School Mark-sheet, date of birth of petitioner no.2 is

20.12.1993. Both the documents are annexed as annexure No. 2 & 3 respectively to the writ petition. As the marriage was against the wishes of the family members, therefore, it is alleged that the Police is harassing them at their instance. Considering the facts of the case, the writ petition is disposed of with the observation that if the petitioners are not wanted in any criminal case and they were of the age of majority on the date of marriage then the police shall not unnecessarily harass them. It is, however, made clear that the Court has neither entered into nor adjudicated the age of the petitioners nor the validity of their alleged marriage. Order Date :- 18.12.2024 Arti/- [Om Prakash Shukla,J.] [Vivek Chaudhary,J.] High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench