Cuttack: Orissa high court has dismissed a plea by a young couple seeking police protection to live together, observing that the petition appeared planned to get around the statutory minimum age for marriage.The division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash noted that both petitioners were around 20 years old. While the woman had attained the legal age for marriage, the man was still one year short of the prescribed age.“Being conscious of the proposition of law that the boy has not attained the age of marriage as provided in the statute, the petitioners with a clever draftsmanship, created an illusory story of living together without entering into a marital institution,” the Bench said in its Oct 5 order.The couple from the Sadar police station area in Berhampur approached the court, claiming that their families had not accepted their relationship and expressing apprehension that threats, coercion or other interference could affect their peaceful life. They sought directions to the police to ensure their safety and well-being.However, the HC said that apprehensions unsupported by evidence were insufficient to warrant judicial intervention. It noted that both petitioners had attained majority and were capable of making decisions about their lives.“It is a cardinal principle of law as embraced in our country that the Court takes cognisance and/or interferes in litigations on the basis of convincing and/or cogent materials produced in support of the averments and/or allegations made therein,” the order said.The Bench emphasised that a direction could not be issued merely on the basis of a perception of danger without corroborating material.It also pointed out that the petition contained no specific allegation of ill-treatment by either family, threats or physical assault against the couple.“In absence of any such material, it would be a sheer wastage of time to entertain such writ petition based only on surmise and conjectures,” the judges observed, dismissing the petition.The order underscores the need for credible supporting material when seeking police protection through a writ petition.
