Give protection to interfaith couple, Uttarakhand HC tells police

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand HC has directed Udham Singh Nagar police to provide protection to a 19-year-old Muslim woman from Sarwar Kheda village, who is in a live-in relationship with a Hindu man from the same village, after threats from her family.

Aksha and Sonu, who is 11 months older than her, told the court they plan to marry soon. She also submitted the names of nine family members, including her parents, brothers, and uncles, identifying them as threats to her and her partner's lives. Their lawyer informed the court that every family in the village, except Sonu's, belongs to the minority community. Sonu, who studied up to Class 5, now works as a mechanic in a car garage in Kashipur, while Aksha studied till Class 10.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Manoj Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma ordered the Udham Singh Nagar SSP to "provide adequate security to the petitioners so that they are not harmed by the woman's family and their associates." The court also instructed the state counsel to verify their ages and scheduled the next hearing for October 24. This order follows a recent directive by HC to Haridwar police to provide protection to an interfaith couple who was facing threats from the family of a Hindu woman who was seven months pregnant.


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