A Bench consisting of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit referenced the Supreme Court’s judgment in Lata Singh v. State of UP, which provides protection to inter-faith couples, and directed the police to offer protection if the couple registered their relationship under the UCC.
Uttarakhand: The Uttarakhand High Court recently granted police protection to an inter-faith couple in a live-in relationship on the condition that they register their relationship under the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) of Uttarakhand within 48 hours.
The couple approached the Court seeking protection, claiming they faced threats from the woman’s parents and brother due to their inter-faith live-in relationship.
A Bench consisting of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit referenced the Supreme Court’s judgment in Lata Singh v. State of UP, which provides protection to inter-faith couples, and directed the police to offer protection if the couple registered their relationship under the UCC.
The Court stated,
“We dispose of the writ petition by providing that if the petitioners apply for registration under the aforesaid Act within 48 hours, the SHO, PS Dalanwala, Dehradun shall provide adequate protection to the petitioners for a period of six weeks to ensure that no harm is caused to them from the private respondents or any other person acting on their behest. Upon the expiry of six weeks, the concerned SHO shall assess the threat perception to the petitioners and take appropriate action as deemed necessary.”
Section 378 of the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024 mandates that partners in a live-in relationship must submit a statement of their relationship to the appropriate registrar within whose jurisdiction they reside.
During the hearing, the counsel for the State informed the Bench that the UCC in Uttarakhand requires such registration, and the couple had not complied with this requirement. The petitioners’ counsel then assured the Court that the couple would apply under the relevant provisions of the UCC.
With these observations, the Court directed the couple to register their relationship under the Uniform Civil Code, Uttarakhand, 2024.
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Advocate Mohd Matlub represented the petitioners, while Advocate General JS Virk and Advocate RK Joshi appeared for the respondents.
