A major woman has the fundamental right to live according to her own wishes and cannot be subjected to illegal detention by the police. However, she cannot be permitted to reside as the wife of a man who has not attained the legally prescribed age for marriage, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Pranay Verma and Justice Jai Kumar Pillai passed the ruling while deciding a habeas corpus petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by Ritesh Katara. The petitioner claimed that a woman, referred to in the proceedings as the corpus, was his legally wedded wife and was being unlawfully detained by police authorities.
Seeking her production and release, the petitioner contended that he had married the woman and that her continued custody by the police was illegal. During the hearing, however, the Court noted a significant legal hurdle. The petitioner himself was only 20 years old and had not attained the statutory marriageable age prescribed for men under Indian law.
The Bench observed that since the petitioner had not reached the legally required age for marriage, the alleged matrimonial relationship could not be accorded legal recognition. The Court recorded that the petitioner’s age itself prevented the claimed marriage from being recognised in law.
Pursuant to an earlier order dated June 1, 2026, the woman was produced before the Court by the State authorities. She was brought before the Bench by Lady Constable Kavita Bhatia and the Station House Officer of Khachrod Police Station, Dhan Singh.
The judges interacted with the woman in person to ascertain her wishes. During the interaction, she expressed her desire to accompany the petitioner. However, the Court held that her preference could not override the legal consequences arising from the petitioner’s failure to meet the statutory age requirement for marriage.
The Bench noted that although the woman wished to go with the petitioner, he was not of marriageable age and, therefore, she could not be permitted to reside with him as his wife.
At the same time, the Court strongly reaffirmed the principles of personal liberty and individual autonomy. It observed that the woman was a major and, therefore, fully competent to decide where and with whom she wished to reside. The Court emphasised that neither the police nor any other authority could unlawfully detain her or restrict her freedom of movement.
Balancing the woman’s right to personal liberty with the legal bar on recognising the alleged marriage, the Court directed that she was free to live wherever she wished. However, it clarified that such freedom would not extend to residing with the petitioner in the capacity of his wife, since the claimed marital relationship lacked legal validity.
To ensure that the woman could exercise her choice safely and independently, the Court directed the police officers who had produced her before the Bench to escort her to the place where she desired to go.
With these observations, the High Court disposed of the habeas corpus petition. Advocate Harshwardhan Singh Rathore appeared for the petitioner, while Government Advocate Aditya Garg represented the State authorities.
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