Adult woman free to reside wherever, with whoever she wishes: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on November 24 said that an adult woman is free to reside wherever she wishes and with whoever she wishes. The court was hearing a matter of a 20-year-old woman who left her house willingly and got married.

The Delhi High Court's decision, led by Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar, comes at a time when states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are contemplating a law on "love jihad".

The court heard the case filed by family members of a woman who alleged that their 20-year-old had gone missing. The family also claimed that the woman has been falsely induced into leaving her home. The woman told the court, via video-conferencing that she willingly left her family home and that she had willingly gotten married.

The Delhi High Court has now directed the Delhi Police to escort the woman to the house of her husband, and also asked the police to "counsel the parents to not take law into their own hands" or to threaten the couple. The court also ordered that the phone number of the beat constable of the area in which the couple reside should be given to the couple so that they can get in touch with the police "in case of need".

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