Live Law reported:
Hadiya Case: We Can't Question The Legitimacy Of An Adult Woman's Choice Of Marriage, Observes SC | Live Law
The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice A. M. Khanwilkar on Tuesday, in the course of the hearing of the Special Leave Petition in ‘Shafin Jahan v. UOI’, observed that the investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will not have any bearing in Hadiya’s marital status.
“She is a 24 years old girl. If an adult says she is married out of her own free consent, how can one contest that marriage?”
“Your Lordships are looking at marriage in isolation. Please note that she was not married at the time the petition was filed before the Kerala High Court. The prayer at that time was that the girl was unwilling to return to her parents. The marriage is merely a devise to legitimise her illegal confinement”, submitted the counsel Madhavi Diwan, appearing on behalf of one of the respondents.