No end to police’s ‘fascination’ with adults marrying on their own: Court raps UP cops

4 min readNew DelhiJul 10, 2026 02:00 PM IST

The court observed that the woman was an adult who had married the man of her own free will and it had granted the couple protection against arrest in an earlier order. (AI-generated image)

The Allahabad High Court recently pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Police for ‘investigating’ the marriage of two consenting adults and directed the superintendent of police (SP), Jaunpur, to explain why the husband’s father was being summoned despite a final report having already been filed in an alleged abduction case involving the couple.

A bench of Justices J J Munir and Achal Sachdev observed that the police’s fascination with adults marrying on their own did not seem to end despite the court’s reminders.

“We have repeatedly emphasized that the police should not investigate marriages, but investigate crimes, but the fascination of the police with adults marrying of their own does not seem to end,” the June 30 order read.

The matter was connected to an earlier petition filed by the couple in 2024, in which they had sought protection after an FIR alleging abduction was lodged against the husband. In its latest order, the court noted that a final report had already been filed in the FIR, but the police were still summoning the husband’s father.

Issuing a notice to the police officers concerned to explain why they were summoning the man’s father, the court observed, prima facie, that the woman was an adult who had married the man of her own free will. It added that protection against arrest was granted to the couple in its previous order.

Justices J J Munir and Achal Sachdev directed the SP to explain the conduct of the officers concerned.

During the proceedings in 2024, another bench had recorded the couple’s submission that both were adults, had married each other voluntarily, and had even applied online for registration of their marriage. The court had then restrained the police from arresting them, subject to their cooperation with the investigation.

The bench has now directed the SP to explain the conduct of the officers concerned when the matter is taken up along with the connected writ petition. It also ordered that a copy of its order be communicated to the SP and the station house officer (SHO) through the chief judicial magistrate, Jaunpur.

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‘Chase crime, not couples’

Earlier, while hearing a plea filed by a young married couple seeking quashing of an FIR registered at the instance of the woman’s father, the Allahabad High Court flagged a disturbing trend of police “chasing couples” and “investigating marriages” instead of crimes.

A bench of Justices J J Munir and Tarun Saxena quashed an FIR lodged against the couple, holding that no one has the business to tell an adult where they should stay or with whom they should spend their life.

“We find a disturbing trend these days where the Police, as in the present case, are registering FIRs and chasing couples, virtually investigating marriages, instead of investigating crimes with which their hands are full,” said the bench’s April 21 ruling.

In strong observations directed at the police administration, the court said that police were doing a disservice by registering such FIRs, as such actions were illegal and, in some cases, could amount to offences.

Ashish Shaji is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express, where he specializes in legal journalism. Combining a formal education in law with years of editorial experience, Ashish provides authoritative coverage and nuanced analysis of court developments and landmark judicial decisions for a national audience.

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