Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has held that an adult woman can not be forced to live with her father against her wishes. She has the legal right to choose whom she wants to live with.A single bench comprising Justice…

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has held that an adult woman can not be forced to live with her father against her wishes. She has the legal right to choose whom she wants to live with.A single bench comprising Justice Subhash Vidyarthi gave the ruling recently while allowing a Habeas Corpus petition filed by a woman through her husband, who hailed from a different religion, contending that she had been ‘detained’ by her father against her will as he was opposed to her marrying a person following a different religion.‘’When the detenue is major, she has the legal right to chose whom she wants to live, she claims to have married the person of her choice and she has categorically stated that she wants to live with that person but her father has detained her against her wishes, because he is opposed to her marrying a person following a different religion,’’ the Court said.‘’The detenue, in illegal detention of her father, deserves to be set free by issuing a Writ of Habeas Corpus,’’ it further said, setting her at liberty from the custody of her father.Allahabad High Court asks SBI to ‘immediately’ refund Rs 19.90 lakh debited from widow’s FDRegarding the plea of the father that her marriage was not valid in the eye of the law as there was no proof of performance of ‘saptapadi’ (the most important legal and sacred rite in a Hindu marriage ceremony where the bride and groom take seven steps together around a consecrated fire), the Court said that this disputed question could not be examined by the court as the parties to the marriage were not disputing the validity of their marriage.‘’Whether the marriage of the detenue is valid or not, she having the age of majority, has the legal right to choose not to reside with her father and her father cannot force her to live with him,’’ the Court said.

Source: Deccan Herald