Love Recognizes No Barriers: Bombay HC Quotes Maya Angelou, Upholds Adult Girl's Right To Live-In Relationship
The Bombay High Court quoted renowned American civil rights activist Maya Angelou in a ruling that permitted a girl to continue her "live-in relationship" with a boy, emphasizing that love knows no boundaries.
The case arose when the girl, who had reached adulthood, was being held in a government-run women’s shelter in Chembur, Mumbai, following objections from her family. Despite these pressures, the girl remained firm in her decision to be with the boy and expressed her desire to live with him and his mother, away from her family.
The Division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande ruled that the girl, being an adult, had the constitutional right to exercise her autonomy in choosing her partner.
The Court noted, "Maya Angelou, an American memoirist and civil rights activist remarked 'Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.' This statement actually describe the story of the petitioner and the corpus - a major girl, but there is a fly in the ointment.Apart from the fact that they belong to different religions and their interse relationship is disapproved by the girl's family, another hindrance is that the petitioner, the boy is not of marriageable age," They also pointed out that the boy was only 20 years old, making him under the legal marriageable age, and as a result, the couple had opted to enter into a "live-in relationship" rather than a formal marriage.
Advocate Lokesh Zade appeared for the petitioner and Advocate Sana Raees Khan appeared for the Respondent.
The Court clarified that not all live-in relationships qualify as relationships in the "nature of marriage" under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, as the Act uses specific terminology to define such relationships. However, the Court acknowledged the girl’s right to make decisions about her life, as she had clearly expressed her wish to remain independent and not return to her parents' home.
The Court said, "It is her decision as an 'adult' that she do not intend to stay with her parents nor does she want to continue her stay with the Women Centre but she want to lead her life as a free person, who is not physically restricted or controlled by others and is able to make her own choice and decision. According to her, she is entitled for the freedom of making a choice of what is right for her and which shall not be determined by her natal parent nor by the society,"
The bench observed that restricting her freedom would be unjust, and it pointed out that the court should not act as a "super guardian," influenced by the emotions of the parents or societal pressures. Citing various Supreme Court rulings on similar cases, the Court made it clear that the girl's autonomy must be respected.
Although the Court granted the release of the girl from the shelter, it declined to provide police protection for the couple, as they had requested.
Cause Title: Naushad Mehboob Jamadar v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors., [2024:BHC-AS:49499-DB]
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Lokesh Zade, Asif Latif Shaikh, Abid Abbas Sayyed, P.S. Bankar
Respondent: Advocates Sana Raees Khan, Anjali Joshi, Rajesh Shirke, D.J. Haldankar