Allahabad HC Grants Protection To Couple Amid Honour Killing Threat, Says SSP Will Be Personally Liable For Any Harm

Reaffirming that personal liberty under Article 21 overrides social norms, the Allahabad High Court recently granted police protection to a couple fearing honour killing, holding that any harm to them would make the Senior Superintendent of Police, Bulandshahr, personally liable.

A division bench led by Justice JJ Munir and Justice Anil Kumar was dealing with a plea filed by a 23-year-old woman and her husband seeking protection and relief from harassment, as an FIR was filed against them by the woman’s father.

Observing that both the petitioners are adults and got married out of their free will at Arya Samaj, Prayagraj, the court held, "The social norms may dictate otherwise, but the Constitution grants them the freedom by virtue of Article 21 and the entire gamut of liberty guaranteed to an adult."

The court also took note of the allegations that the petitioners were facing death threats at the hands of the woman’s father and other family members.

"Given the prevalent social milieu, some kind of serious violence, even an honour killing, cannot be ruled out under such circumstances, where the informant has gone to the extent of lodging an FIR against an adult woman," the court remarked.

On the other hand, the State, represented by AGA Deepak Mishra, questioned the validity of the Arya Samaj marriage by placing reliance on a previous decision (Shruti Agnihotri vs. Anand Kumar Srivastava, 2024 SCC OnLine 3701).

However, the court held that both individuals, being adults, had the right to choose their life partner under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court also expressed shock at how the police had registered an FIR and were investigating the matter despite knowing that both petitioners were adults.

Acknowledging the grave nature of the matter, the court issued notice to respondents and granted them three weeks' time to file a counter-affidavit.

"Until further orders of this Court, petitioners shall not be arrested in Case Crime No. 0445 of 2025 under Section 87 of the B.N.S., P.S. Khurja Nagar, District Bulandshahr," the court ordered.

Accordingly, the court also restrained the woman’s father and family members from harassing and contacting the petitioners, directly or indirectly, through social media, telephone, or otherwise, or in any manner forcibly separating the couple.

While parting with the matter, the court warned that in the event of any harm to the petitioners, the SSP, Bulandshahr, shall be personally answerable.

The matter will next come up on 07 July 2025.

Case title – Priya Solanki And Another vs. State Of U.P. And 3 Others