The Kerala High Court, recognizing the significance of a father's presence at his daughter's wedding, granted emergency leave to a convicted individual to attend the event. Emphasizing the cultural importance, particularly within the context of the parties being Muslim, the court highlighted the necessity for the father's participation in his daughter's wedding.

While delivering its decision,  Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas made note of the petitioner's father's track record. He highlighted that in previous instances, when the petitioner's father was granted either emergency or regular leave, he consistently abided by the stipulated timeframe, returning without any delays.

“The factum of marriage of the petitioner is not disputed by the respondents. As the father of a daughter, and that too being a Muslim, it is essential that the father attends the wedding.'' , the Court said.

The petitioner, being the daughter of a convict, has approached the court requesting emergency parole for her father to attend her upcoming wedding scheduled for January 7, 2024. She emphasized that the marriage hinges on her father's presence and asserted that without his parole, the wedding would not proceed. Furthermore, she cited a past instance where her marriage had to be postponed due to her father not being granted parole at that time.

The Additional Public Prosecutor, P Narayanan, presented the court with information stating that the petitioner's father had been previously granted emergency leave to attend the weddings of his two other daughters. Additionally, it was highlighted that he was also given emergency leave to attend his mother's funeral. The submission aimed to assert that while past emergency leaves had been granted for significant events, there were valid reasons for the rejection of the current request for emergency parole.

The Court, in response to the writ petition, approved the request and sanctioned a four-day emergency leave for the petitioner's father, enabling his attendance at her wedding.

The counsel for the petitioner, comprising Advocates Subash Chandran, Jeevlin Jiji, Gayathri Muraleedharan, and Arathy P, presented their case before the court.

Case title: XXX v State of Kerala

Case number: WP(CRL.) NO. 1337 OF 2023