The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed that couples seeking protection from arrest or custodial interference in matters of inter-community or inter-religious relationships must file an affidavit indicating whether the marriage in question is their first marriage. The order was passed while hearing a batch of petitions filed by young couples seeking protective relief against coercive actions from law enforcement or family members, particularly in cases where there are allegations of obscuring age or contesting the validity of marriage under personal laws. The Court noted a growing trend of matrimonial disputes and allegations under various penal provisions, including offences related to kidnapping, abduction, or criminal intimidation, being used to harass couples in consensual relationships or where families disapprove of the union.
The High Court emphasised that the primary objective of protective relief applications is to ensure that couples are not wrongfully detained or coerced when the allegations are driven by familial opposition or to serve as leverage against consensual relationships. However, the Court observed that a recurring issue in many such petitions is the absence of clear information about the marital history of the parties, in particular whether either party had been previously married. To address this gap and to assist courts in evaluating the genuineness of the relationship and the potential for misuse of protective orders, the Court directed that all applications for protective relief must be accompanied by an affidavit from the couple stating whether the marriage is their first, or whether there have been prior marriages involving either spouse. The affidavit is intended to provide the trial court with clarity on the matrimonial background, which may have relevance to the legal questions involved in the protective proceedings.
The Court explained that asking for such an affidavit is meant to aid judicial scrutiny and ensure that protective relief is not misused to obstruct legitimate criminal investigation or to facilitate circumvention of personal law obligations, including issues related to maintenance, succession, or prior legal commitments arising from earlier marriages. The order requires that the affidavit be sworn before a notary or magistrate, clearly disclosing whether either party was previously married, whether any prior marriage was dissolved, and the status of any legal proceedings relating thereto. This directive applies to all future petitions for protective relief under the criminal process where the validity of marriage, consent, age, or familial opposition is in dispute.
The High Court’s order reflects its concern over the misuse of criminal provisions in matrimonial contexts, especially where accusations of forcible marriage or abduction are raised to intimidate or harass couples. The Court emphasised that while the courts are duty-bound to protect individuals from unlawful detention or coercion, they must also guard against the potential exploitation of protective orders to derail legitimate investigation processes or to gain undue advantage in personal law disputes. The affidavit requirement is meant to strike a balance between safeguarding individual liberty and ensuring that protective relief is not granted on incomplete or misleading information about the marital status of the applicants.
The direction will now form part of the procedural requirements that couples and their counsel will need to comply with when approaching the High Court or subordinate courts for protective relief orders. Trial courts will be expected to insist on production of such affidavits before considering the merits of the protective relief applications. The High Court indicated that the affidavit would help delineate cases where the protective orders may be appropriate from those where additional scrutiny is warranted due to prior matrimonial history or complexities arising from previous relationships. The Court’s order marks a formal effort to bring greater transparency and support more informed judicial decision-making in protective relief petitions involving young couples in contested relationships.
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