Smt. Saniya @ Karishma & ANR. v. State & ORS.

$~58 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 3056/2018 & Crl. M.A. Nos. 33637-38/2018 SMT. SANIYA @ KARISHMA & ANR.

..... Petitioners Through:

Mr. Rajkumar and Mr. Aabid Ujer, Advocates.

Versus

STATE & ORS.

..... Respondents Through:

Mr. Ranbir Singh Kundu, Additional Standing Counsel for State for Mr. Avi Singh, ASC, with Ms. Purnima Malik, Advocate with SI Ashish Sharma, P.S.

Jafrabad.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAJMI WAZIRI

O R D E R

% 05.10.2018 The petitioners claim to be the legal adults. The petitioner No.1 relies upon her School Leaving Certificate and a Card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, showing her date of birth as 16.06.2000. They claim to have married each other of their free volition on 19.09.2018. The matrimony does not meet the approval of the family members of petitioner No.1, who are arrayed as respondent Nos. 3 to 6. The petitioners apprehend threat to their life, limb and liberty from the said respondents. The Delhi Police was received a request for protection from petitioner No. 1, as of yesterday.

The learned counsel for the State submits that due protection shall be granted to them, however, the petitioners were not found present at the address mentioned therein. The petitioners are directed to furnish their

fresh address with telephone numbers to the learned counsel for the State for onward transmission to the Investigating Officer. The latter shall not disclose the same to anybody. Additionally, the Investigating Officer shall interact with the petitioners in the Court premises today itself and they shall be provided due protection, as per threat assessed, by the Station House Officer (SHO) of the area of their residence in Delhi. They will be provided four telephone numbers of police officers including one of the 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.

The Court is assured by the learned counsel for the State 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. The address of the petitioners shall not be disclosed to anybody by the police. 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. The Beat Constable shall record entries in his Beat Book. The learned counsel for the State submits that the SHO concerned shall duly sensitize respondents No.

3 to 6 about the petitioners' right to choose a life partner; to marry as per their free volition; to live a life according to their choice and for doing so the consent of the parents would not be necessary in law.

Should the petitioners shift their address to the jurisdiction of any other Police Station in Delhi, the same protection shall be granted to them by the SHO of the subsequent Police Station as well.

No further orders are required.

The petition stands disposed-off in terms of the above. NAJMI WAZIRI, J.

OCTOBER 05, 2018 sb