Couples seeking protection must disclose marital status in petition: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently ordered that couples who file petitions seeking protection against threats to their life or liberty should disclose their marital status and information regarding children from previous marriages, in their petitions..A division bench of Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan and Justice Shiv Shanker Prasad passed the order after noting that in a number of such writ petitions, the marital status of the petitioners was not being disclosed.Besides seeking disclosure of the marital status, the Court has also said the petitioners would be required to declare how they would maintain children that they may have from any previous marriage, and also undertake to transfer property in their favour.“We deem it appropriate to direct Registrar General to issue appropriate directions to the Registry that in all the petitions filed by the petitioners seeking such relief either under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. or in a writ of mandamus or certiorari under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India, a specific paragraph be added about their marital status, number of children having from the previous marriage and manner in which maintenance will be granted to children from such marriage, including an undertaking to transfer the property in favour of the minor children,” said the Court..The requirement to disclose such details by way of an affidavit will come into effect from April 1 after following the due process, the Court added. The Court said that necessary instructions should be issued so that no case be cleared by the registry unless such an affidavit is filed.“Registrar General is directed to file his affidavit of compliance of these directions,” the Court further ordered while listing the matter for hearing on April 10..The Court passed these directions while hearing a case involving allegations that a minor girl was kidnapped by a man and his family. The girl was subsequently recovered. She then filed the petition to quash the case. The petition was jointly moved by the girl, and the persons accused of kidnapping her. While opposing the petition, the State submitted that the man was already married with six children. A dispute also emerged as to whether the allegedly kidnapped girl was a minor. The State maintained that she was only 17 years old.Considering these aspects, the Court said it was not inclined to grant any relief to the accused man at this stage. The Court also expressed concern that nothing had been stated in the petition as to how the accused man would maintain his six children from a previous marriage..Therefore, the Court ordered the District Magistrate of Hapur to submit a report about the properties owned by the man so that they may be transferred to the name of his children. Though the Court refused to protect the man, it ordered that no coercive action be taken against his family members in the kidnapping case.Advocate Syed Ali Imran represented the petitioners.