Smt. Sandra & ORS. v. State & ORS.

$~79 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 2996/2018 SMT. SANDRA & ORS.

..... Petitioners Through:

Mr. Mohammad Yusuf, Advocate versus STATE & ORS.

..... Respondents Through:

Mr. Ashish Aggarwal, ASC for State with ASI Kanwaljeet Singh, PS Mangol Puri Mr. A.P. Singh, Ms. Geeta Chauhan, Mr. V.P. Singh, Mr. Pratima Rani & Ms. Richa Singh, Advocates for R-4

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAJMI WAZIRI

O R D E R

% 01.10.2018 CRL.M.A. 33344/2018 Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions. The application stands disposed off.

W.P.(CRL) 2996/2018 The petitioners seek protection of their life, limb and liberty apropos threat perceived from respondent No. 4, who is the father of the girl whom the son of petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 has married. They state that not only they, but their other son and daughter-in-law too, i.e. petitioner Nos. 3 and 4 too also, have been threatened by respondent No. 4 with dire consequences, if the latter's daughter is not returned to them by the petitioners.

The learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the matrimony between the said couple is between consenting adults, they do not live with the petitioners and they have no authority or control over their adult son, let alone his wife. Hence, for respondent No. 4 to expect miracles from them is an impossibility, in any case they cannot be subject to such threats. Their complaint to the police has yielded no result. The learned counsel for the State assures the Court that the matter will be looked into thoroughly and respondent No. 4 shall be duly cautioned and sensitized to maintain peace, as well as to the fact that the legal adults have a right to make their own decision in choosing a life partner and the parents cannot interfere in the exercise of such right.

Additionally, the petitioners shall be provided with telephone numbers of three police officers from the jurisdiction of the concerned Police Station of which one shall be a lady police officer. These numbers shall be kept operational at all times so that any exigency can be intimated on either of the numbers by the petitioners. He further states that any message received on the said numbers or on any other telephone number of the police either by way of a telephone call or SMS shall be immediately responded to. Additionally, the Beat Constable/Division Staff of the area shall regularly visit the residence of the petitioners on a daily basis and report the same in the Roznamcha. The safety and security of the petitioners shall be assessed by the SHO on a weekly basis with due endorsement of the same in the Roznamcha for a month.

The Beat Constable shall record entries in his Beat Book. The petitioners shall furnish their address in Delhi to the SHO concerned.

The learned counsel for respondent No. 4, who appears on intimation from the Investigating Officer of Police Station Mangol Puri, states that

there cannot be any question of threat by respondent No. 4 as he is a law abiding citizen and he is concerned about the safety and security of his daughter and that his interaction or concern cannot be interpreted as being any threat to any other citizen. He would be more than happy to meet his daughter and accord his blessings to her. He submits that if his daughter and the son-in-law come together, he would extend them his blessings so would his entire family and accord them a civic reception. No further orders are required at this stage. The petition stands disposed-off accordingly. NAJMI WAZIRI, J OCTOBER 01, 2018 rd