Chandigarh: Controversy has erupted over increasing the minimum age of marriage for girls. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently said in a case that no young man below the age of 21 can marry but he is 18 years of age or older. With his consent to an older woman, he can live with her as a couple. This decision of the High Court is in the context of the Supreme Court’s decision of May 2018, which said that any young couple can live together without marriage.
The High Court was hearing a petition filed by a young couple from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. The couple living in a live-in relationship has sought protection through this petition. Both of them are over 18 years old. The young man is 18 years old but under the Hindu Marriage Act legally he cannot marry till he attains the age of 21 years.
After this, the young couple filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking protection. They say that they are facing threat to their lives from their families. This is about their relationship. The lawyer of the young couple has told the court that they are afraid that their family members will get them murdered.
During the hearing in the High Court, Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill has said that it is the responsibility of the government to protect the freedom and life of every person. The judge has directed the Gurdaspur SSP to take a decision on the request of the young couple and provide them security.
