Supreme Court today gave protection from arrest to a newly-wed Jaipur couple. (file)
A newly-wed young couple from Jaipur was given protection from arrest today after they moved the Supreme Court and claimed they were getting threats over their inter-caste marriage.
The couple, who got married on February 28, "should not be arrested," the top court said today, adding that they should be given police protection "if required".
The woman - a doctor - is from the Yadav community, while her husband is an engineer and belongs to the Jain community. The couple alleged that they were getting life threats since they got married. In his petition, the man alleged that his wife's family was threatening them.
Advocate Mannan Mishra, the couple's lawyer, made a request to the vacation bench of the top court to take up the case immediately.
The vacation bench, which was sitting for the first time during holidays for the Holi festival, agreed to the request and took up the case.
The petition was heard by a two-judge bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Surya Kant, which passed the order. thank
The top had last year, while hearing a case, had said that it "not averse to inter-faith and inter-caste marriages".
In 2018, while hearing a petition on violence unleashed against couples who marry across faith and religons, the top court had said: . 'If two adults get married by consent, whatever be their caste, religion or gotra, no one can interfere in such a marriage, neither the relatives nor panchayats."
Violence against couples who marry across faiths and castes is common in several parts of the country.