Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 23
Allegedly married for money against her wishes by her parents to a “drug addict”, an 18-year-old girl has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court claiming that she stayed at a farmer agitation site after escaping from her in-laws’ house only to be found and threatened by her husband once again.
Taking up the alleged sordid tale of betrayal by the parents, Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the High Court today ordered police protection in case of threat perception.
Appearing before Justice Sangwan’s Bench through videoconferencing, her counsel submitted that the petitioner’s marriage was performed by her parents forcibly after taking a “handsome amount” from her husband. The counsel added the petitioner’s brother, an addict, was also given drugs by the husband. He too, remained under the influence of drugs and was regularly beating and pressuring her to have physical relations with his friends.
Her counsel also submitted that even the parents-in-law were misbehaving with the petitioner and would lock her up in a room without food. She escaped from their custody and found a hideout in the farmers’ agitation at Delhi in December 2020. She stayed there for about a month and a half before she met someone who offered her a job.
Her counsel alleged the petitioner started working in Goraya. But the husband and others came to know her whereabouts and started extending threats.
The Bench was also said the petitioner gave representations to the police authorities, but action was not taken. After going through the documents and hearing the arguments, Justice Sangwan issued notice of motion to the respondents including Punjab, which was accepted on its behalf by a deputy advocate-general and fixed the case for May second week.
High Court to aid of ‘forcibly married’ woman
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