Indian woman wins a case against politician father who forced her into marrying against her will

• The woman alleges that she was tortured by her parents and brother and was forced to get married.
• The court took cognisance of the fact that she is 26 years old and therefore not a minor, and said she is free to do as she wishes.
• The Supreme Court, however, refused the petition to declare it a ‘void marriage’ and said she will have to approach the family court to annul the marriage.

The daughter of a well-known politician in Karnataka approached the Supreme Court (SC) to allow her to get away from her parents and husband because she was forced into the marriage. Dubbed as Ms 'X' in the court’s records, the SC took cognisance of the fact that she is 26 years old and therefore not a minor, and said she is free to do as she wishes.

"You are a major. You are independent to go wherever you want to go," said a bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. The SC, however, refused the petition to declare it a ‘void marriage’ and said she will have to approach the family court to annul the marriage.

The woman alleges that she was tortured by her parents and brother and despite her lodging a police complaint that clearly stated she did not wish to marry the prospective groom, she was forced to get married to him on March 14.

Twenty days post the wedding, the woman fled her parents’ home and headed to Delhi. On arrival, she approached the Delhi Commission for Women and the Supreme Court almost immediately ordered her to be given police protection.

Fearing retaliation from her parents and husband, her lawyer, Indira Jaising, also sought police protection in Bengaluru, where the woman wants to go to pursue her masters in engineering. Jaising claimed, “Her brother, supported by her mother, had threatened to rape her.” To this, the bench said, “She can go to any place she desires to. Parents or any family member of X, the husband or his family members, cannot create any obstacle in the path of the woman.”

The bench also suggested that if she feared for her safety since her family wielded significant power in the city, she should approach the area assistant commissioner of police who would be the best person to take appropriate measures to give her protection.

The lawyer representing her parents, Basava Patil, assured the court that her parents will not take any kind of coercive measure against their daughter and would return all her belongings including her educational certificates and documents. Patil said, “She need not apprehend anything. There will be no interference with her life from the parents. All things she desires will be given back to her.”