'Can't Curtail Liberty Under Social Pressure': Allahabad High Court Sets Interfaith Couple Free, Orders Inquiry On 'Illegal' Detention By Cops

Calling the detention of an interfaith couple by the police as 'illegal' and a "violation of their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution", the Allahabad High Court today set free an interfaith couple (a Muslim man and a Hindu woman) who had gone missing after attending a court hearing earlier this week and were detained by the cops. A Bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant, which convened a special sitting on a non-working day to hear the habeas corpus plea filed by the man's brother, directed the authorities to ensure the safe escort to Aligarh and continued protection of the couple. The Court further directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Aligarh, to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report by November 28, 2025. The Court has also sought his personal presence on that date. Couple produced in HC Briefly put, yesterday, the Court treated the matter as 'urgent' after it was alleged that the couple had disappeared after attending a hearing in the HC and it directed the police to produce them before the Bench today. Pursuant to the Court's order, a Sub-Inspector of the Aligarh police produced both petitioner no. 2 (Shane Ali) and his Hindu partner, daughter of respondent no. 6, in Court on Saturday. The Government Advocate informed the Bench that the girl had been produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Aligarh on October 17, where her age was verified and she was found to be a major. The bench was also apprised that the Magistrate recorded her voluntary statement, in which she categorically said that she wanted to go with the petitioner (Shane Alam), leading to her release. The Magistrate's order, setting her at liberty, was placed before the High Court and taken on record. During an in-camera interaction, the Bench directly spoke with the couple where the girl stated that she is 21-year-old, she had married Shane Ali and now wished to live with him. She also stated that her earlier statements, both before the Judicial Magistrate and the High Court, were made without any pressure and that she was never coerced into marriage. Thus, noting that the validity of the marriage was 'not' relevant for the decision of the Habeas Corpus Petition, the bench said that being a major, she was at liberty to go with whomsoever she wants. Furthermore, the couple claimed before the HC that after leaving the High Court premises on October 15, 2025, they were abducted by girl's father and certain persons accompanying him, with the assistance of the police and were taken to Aligarh. According to their account, the girl was sent to a 'One Stop Centre', while the man was detained at the police station. They were finally produced before the Judicial Magistrate at around 3:00 PM on October 17, who ordered that the girl be set at liberty and that is she was eventually produced before the HC.HC's observations Examining the case diary, the Court noted that the girl had clearly stated in her Section 183 of BNSS statement that she had gone with the petitioner voluntarily and desired to live with him. Despite this, the bench further noted, the IO continued probing into the couple's religious differences and the alleged failure to inform the District Magistrate about their marriage. "No such investigation was required", the Court said as it added that once the Judicial Magistrate had set the girl free, the police's role was only to ensure her safe escort to her chosen destination. Responding to the Court's query on why the couple had been detained after October 15, the Government Advocate said the police acted due to 'social tension' in the area because of inter-religious marriage, and that this justified both the detention and continued investigation. Rejecting this justification, the Bench observed: "The plea that the girl had to be kept at 'One Stop Centre' and the petitioner no. 2 was detained at the police station because of the social tension in the area due to the different religions of the parties is not acceptable and cannot justify the detention… A person can be detained by the police or other state authorities only under law". The bench added that the custody of the parties by the police was illegal and violated the fundamental rights of the girl and petitioner no. 2 under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. In scathing terms, the Court held: "A detention under social pressure but without authority of law does not make the detention legal but only increases the illegality of detention. In a democratic country governed by Rule of Law, the State Government and its law-enforcement machinery are expected to use their power to protect the liberty of a citizen and not to succumb to social pressures". Thus, declaring the detention to be 'illegal' from October 15 till the time of hearing, the Court set them free. It...

'Can't Curtail Liberty Under Social Pressure': Allahabad High Court Sets Interfaith Couple Free, Orders Inquiry On 'Illegal' Detention By Cops

Sparsh Upadhyay

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