Allahabad HC’s pattern of denying protection to interfaith, live-in couples—a look at cases & the law

With regards to the ruling by the Allahabad HC in Kesarwani’s case, Ayushi Sharma, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, said, “It seems the high court has dismissed the protection plea on rather shaky grounds. In a 2024 judgment, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for protecting intimate partners, directing that courts must immediately grant police protection before getting into the question of grave risk of violence or abuse.”

“While the guidelines were issued in a specific context, the broader principle is to protect the right to choose one’s partner and live peacefully. There is also a recognised problem of violence and interference in the personal lives of couples who have married for love or across faiths, and remarks such as courts not being meant to protect youths who have married of their own choice are deeply problematic. The right to choose is a fundamental right, and this order defeats the spirit of the Supreme Court’s judgment and undermines the couple’s rights to life, liberty, privacy and dignity,” she said.