Kerala High Court Stays Arrest Of Viral Kumbh Mela Star, Husband In MP Police FIR On Father's Abduction Complaint
The Kerala High Court has stayed, till May 20, the arrest of the viral Kumbh mela star and her husband Farmaan in the crime registered pursuant to a complaint preferred by her father before the Madhya Pradesh police alleging abduction of his daughter.
Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath initially passed an interim order staying their arrest on March 23 while considering their anticipatory bail application, which had been filed apprehending arrest based on the afore complaint.
The Court had passed the order after noting that the couple got married on March 11 and had been residing as husband and wife.
On April 8, when the case came up, the public prosecutor submitted that no instructions were received in the case. Recording the same, the Court posted the matter on May 20 and observed that the interim stay on arrest is to continue till then.
The young woman who became popularly known as the "viral Kumbh Mela star" shot to nationwide fame during the Maha Kumbh celebrations last year, after videos of her selling rudraksha garlands at the mela circulated widely on social media.
In March 2026, the girl, who was in Kerala for a film-shooting, sought the help of local police, alleging that her family was opposing her marriage to Farmaan. She later married Farmaan.
The controversy escalated later when the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) found that the girl was allegedly a minor, about 16 years old, at the time of the marriage, and that forged documents may have been used to facilitate the wedding. Following these findings, police in Madhya Pradesh registered a case against the husband under the POCSO Act.
Case No: B.A. No. 1644 of 2026
Case Title: Moh Farmaan and Anr. v. State of Kerala and Ors.
Counsel for the petitioners: M. Sasindran, Satheeshan Alakkadan and Mrinal Chand