Allahabad HC to Police: Investigate Crimes, Not Marriages; Calls Cops 'Nosy Parkers'
By Sanjeev Sirohi
ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court has delivered a strong message to the police, holding that law enforcement agencies have no role in investigating marriages between consenting adults and should instead concentrate on investigating crimes. In a significant judgment, the court observed that police officers should not act as “nosy parkers” in the personal lives of adult citizens exercising their constitutional right to choose their life partners.
A Division Bench of Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena passed the order while quashing an FIR lodged against a couple who had solemnised their marriage of their own free will. The court ruled that continuing the investigation into the marriage amounted to an abuse of the criminal justice process and a violation of the couple's fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The case involved a 28-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, both highly educated and legally competent adults. According to the petition, the couple had been in a relationship for about a year before marrying at an Arya Vedic Sabha in Prayagraj on February 18, 2026. The woman later informed her father and brother about the marriage, after which, she alleged, they assaulted her and threatened to kill both her and her husband.
Fearing for their safety, the couple approached the Superintendent of Police and the local police station seeking protection. Instead of acting on their complaint, the police proceeded with an FIR lodged by the woman's father alleging that she had been enticed away.
When the matter reached the High Court, the judges personally interacted with the woman, who categorically stated that she had voluntarily married the man of her choice and wished to live with him. The court had earlier stayed both the investigation and the couple's arrest while directing the police to ensure their protection.
Despite this, the Superintendent of Police maintained before the court that the investigation should continue and sought to record the woman's statement under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The Bench strongly criticised this stand, observing that once the woman had made her statement before the High Court, there was no justification for the police to insist on recording further statements to arrive at a different conclusion.
In one of the strongest observations in the judgment, the Bench said, "The police have no business in the matter to be nosy parkers. We have repeatedly reminded the police that it is no business of theirs to investigate marriages. They ought to investigate crimes. This is no crime where any investigation is required."
The court further held that the liberty guaranteed under Article 21 includes the right of every adult to marry a person of his or her choice. It noted that there was no evidence of inducement, coercion or kidnapping, particularly when both individuals were educated adults capable of making independent decisions.
Finding that the police had acted in support of the woman's father instead of respecting her autonomy, the High Court quashed the FIR and imposed costs on both the police authorities and the complainant. It directed the Superintendent of Police and the Station House Officer to jointly pay ₹1,000 to the woman, while her father was ordered to pay ₹5,000 as costs.
The judgment reinforces the Supreme Court's consistent view that consenting adults have the freedom to choose their partners without interference from families or the State. It also serves as a reminder to police authorities that criminal law cannot be used to harass couples who marry by choice and that investigations must be confined to genuine criminal offences rather than personal relationships.
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