Adults free to marry or live with person of their choice, says Allahabad HC
Prayagraj (UP)(PTI): An adult is free to marry or live with a person of their choice and no one, including their parents or anyone on their behalf, can interfere in their right to freedom of choosing a partner, the Allahabad High Court has held.
This freedom, the court said, emanates from the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.
Disposing of a petition filed by an interfaith couple in a live-in relationship, Justice Surendra Singh in a recent verdict directed that if any disturbance is caused in the petitioners' peaceful living, they shall approach the superintendent of police concerned with a copy of the order for protection.
In their petition, the Muslim woman and her Hindu live-in partner sought that their family members be directed not to interfere in their peaceful living. They also sought direction to the police for protection.
The petitioners' counsel submitted that both are adults and in a live-in relationship of their own free will. It was further submitted that the woman's mother and her family members are averse to the live-in relationship.
The woman's mother and other family members are allegedly harassing and disturbing the petitioners' peaceful life. She has also threatened the petitioners with dire consequences, the petition claimed.
The woman sought protection from the Gautam Budh Nagar Commissionerate police commissioner on August 4 but it was of no avail.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
