The Kerala High Court has directed the police to provide protection to an interfaith couple from Jharkhand who left their home state due to threats from their families and got married in Kerala. The Court also instructed the police to ensure that the couple was not relocated elsewhere while their writ petition was under consideration.

Justice C S Dias orally stated, "I direct the Station House Officer (SHO) to ensure to afford adequate police protection to the life of the petitioners. The SHO shall ensure that the petitioners are not repatriated to any other place during the pendency of the writ petition.”

Petitioners Asha Verma and Mohammad Ghalib, who belong to different religions, hail from Jharkhand's Ramgarh district. They had been in a relationship for the past ten years and decided to move to Kerala on February 9, fearing harm from their families.

The couple solemnised their marriage according to Islamic customs in Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, on February 11. The woman informed the Court that she was being pressured to claim falsely that she was abducted and emphasised that their lives were at risk. Seeking police protection, the couple asserted their fundamental right to live and marry freely anywhere in the country.
(With Live Law Inputs)