A Muslim man has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking the immediate release of his Hindu partner from a protection home in Mumbai.
The bench, comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande, is expected to hear the habeas corpus petition in due course.
In addition to her release, the petition requests "adequate police protection" for the couple, aiming to safeguard them from any threats or interference.
The petition argues that the woman's detention at the Shaskriya Stree Bhishekari Khikar Kendra (Government Women’s Hostel) in Chembur is unlawful and a violation of her fundamental rights.
The woman has been placed in the shelter home, reportedly on the directions of the police, following complaints made by her parents and other third parties.
"The interference by the detenue’s parents and third parties, including members of Religious, Political Social Workers, Bajrang Dal and etc., amounts to moral policing and unconstitutional interference with the detenue's personal liberty, which has been categorically disapproved by the judiciary in various precedents," the plea argues.
The petition, filed through advocates Abid Abbas Sayyed and Asif Shaikh, asserts that the woman voluntarily left her parental home and had been living with the man in a consensual live-in relationship for several months.
It further emphasizes that her decision to live with him was a conscious and informed choice, made without any coercion, undue influence, or external pressure.
Attached to the petition is a notarized affidavit dated November 16, in which the woman affirms that she has been living with the man as husband and wife for several months, "of their own free will and without any coercion, undue influence, or pressure."
The petition argues that since the woman has not committed any crime nor been accused of any offense, her confinement is unjustified.
"The act of placing detenur in the Shaskriya Stree Bhishekari Khikar Kendra a Government Women Center (Hostel), Chembur, Mumbai despite her clear and repeated expressions of her free will and autonomy amounts to a violation of her right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," it contends.
In the video, the woman is seen stating that she chose to marry the man and convert to Islam "of her own free will, without any coercion or undue influence."
Website designed, developed and maintained by webexy