Girl's father ought to have withdraw the case by now: Allahabad HC stays criminal proceedings against SC man who married OBC girl
Court observed that the accused and the alleged victim were now happily married and also had a son together.
The Allahabad High Court recently stayed the proceedings in a criminal case lodged against a man by the father of his wife. Court observed that it was a clear case of our society's dark face, where families still feel shy to get their son or daughter to marry inter-caste.
The bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi highlighted that the man and his wife were now living together happily and had a child as well but still, the father of the wife was contesting the case.
"The court after hearing the parties, records its deepest anguish, whereby this social menace is so deep-rooted that even after 75 years of independence, we are fighting the cases with his opponents on this score only (sic)," court said.
Court was dealing with an application filed under Section 482 CrPC. The plea was filed by a man seeking direction to quash the charge sheet in case lodged in 2019 under Sections 363, 366 of IPC and Section 7/8 of the POCSO Act.
The FIR in the case was lodged by the father of the accused's wife. The alleged victim girl i.e. accused's wife belonged to the OBC community whereas the accused belonged to the SC community.
The counsel for the applicant informed the bench that both, the accused and the alleged victim girl, had married each other out of sheer love and were now residing happily together. Not only this, from this wedlock, they have given birth to a baby boy in September last year, the counsel apprised the court.
Taking the submissions into account, the single judge bench said that the father of the alleged victim girl must be aware that his daughter is now the mother of a small baby and he ought to have, for the bright future of his girl, withdraw the case.
"This is the greatest impediment in our society but the requirement of law is that when both the parties have agreed and now they are happily residing as husband and wife with their small kid, there cannot be any impediment in accepting this marriage in the light of the judgment of Hon'ble the Apex Court in the case of Mafat Lal and Another Vs. State of Rajasthan," court observed.
Therefore, the court opined that father of the girl was required to appear before the court and accordingly, ordered to be present before court on April 28, 2023 i.e. date of hearing.
Till then, the high court stayed the proceeding with regard to the concerned charge sheet.
Case Title: ..... and Another v. State of UP