Marriage between first cousins illegal, states Punjab and Haryana HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that marriage between first cousins is illegalThe court said that marriage which petitioner man wants to perform with a girl who is his first cousin was also per se illegalthe submission in the present petition that as and when she the girl attains the age of 18 years they will perform marriage is also per se illegal the judge said on Thursday while hearing the petitionThe assertion came after a 21yearold man moved the high court against state of Punjab seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered under Sections 363 kidnapping 366A procuration of minor girl of the IPC at police station Khanna City2 in Ludhiana district on August 18The state counsel while opposing the bail plea contented that the girl was a minor and her parents had lodged the FIR as she and the man were first cousins and their fathers were brothersThe mans counsel told Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan that the petitioner had also filed a criminal writ petition along with the girl for protection of life and libertyThe court file of the criminal writ petition was summoned during the hearing and as per its memorandum of parties the girl was stated to be 17 years of age and the petitioner man had filed the petition with the submission that both of them were in a liveinrelationshipIt was stated in the petition that date of birth of the girl was August 2003 and on the date of filing the petition on September 3 2020 she was of the age of 17 years and 14 daysAlong with petition a representation was also annexed in which the girl had stated that her parents loved their sons but ignored her therefore she decided to live with her friend petitioner and on that account she was apprehending that her parents can harass them and disturb the peace of their mindThe court disposed of this petition on September 7 The state was directed to grant them protection if any threat was perceived to the man and the girl However the judge made it clear that this order shall not be taken to protect the petitioners man and the girl from legal action for violation of law if any committed by themThe judge after hearing counsel for the parties in the present petition said I find that in the present petition also the petitioner has not disclosed about the fact that he is first cousin of the girl and therefore the submission in the present petition that as and when she attains the age of 18 years they will perform marriage is also per se illegalWhile opposing the anticipatory bail plea the state counsel argued that the girl was aged about 17 years and is a minor therefore her parents have got the FIR registered as the youth and the girl are the first cousins as their fathers are real brothersHence the petitioner has concealed the fact in the petition that they fall in the prohibited sapinda which prohibits marriage between two individuals if they have common ancestor under the Hindu Marriage Act and cannot perform marriage with each other the state counsel arguedOnce the petitioner and the girl are prohibited from performing marriage with each other there is no question of their being in any liveinrelationship which is per se immoral and not acceptable in the societyrdquo it was arguedThe counsel for the petitioner has sought time from the court to address arguments and the case was adjourned to January next yearKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever