Young couple gets HC protection despite man being under 21 at marriage

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court has directed Haridwar police to assess threats to a young couple who married against their families’ wishes, holding that the man being below the statutory marriageable age of 21 at the time of marriage could not, by itself, be a ground to deny them protection.The couple had approached HC saying they married on March 24, 2026, and were facing threats from the woman’s family. The woman was 19 years and six months old at the time of marriage, while the man was 20, as per their school records. The man works in a private job, while the woman is pursuing her studies.The woman’s family opposed the plea, arguing that the marriage was not valid because the man had not completed 21 years at the time it was solemnised.

The couple’s counsel argued that both were adults and that even if the man was below the prescribed marriageable age, the marriage would at most be voidable and not automatically void.Justice Alok Mahra noted that an earlier bench had directed the parties to appear before a counsellor, whose report stated that the woman did not want to return to her parents and was happy in the company of her partner. Relying on Supreme Court’s ruling in Lata Singh vs State of UP, HC held that the couple had made out a case for protection.

“The petitioners have made out a case for grant of protection,” the court said, while directing the station house officer of Buggawala police station in Haridwar to assess any threat to the life and limb of the petitioners and provide necessary protection if such threat was found.The court also directed the SHO to summon the woman’s family members and others opposed to the marriage and counsel them in accordance with law. HC disposed of the petition with these directions, without adjudicating the larger question of validity of the marriage.