HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 7420 of 2025 Court No. - 9 HON'BLE RAJESH SINGH CHAUHAN, J. HON'BLE SYED QAMAR HASAN RIZVI, J. 1.Heard Sri Lalji Prasad Shukla, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri S.N. Tilhari, learned Additional Government Advocate for the State and Sri Himanshu Singh Patel and Sri Ashwarya Verma, learned counsel for the opposite party No.4. 2.By means of this writ petition, the petitioners have assailed the impugned First Information Report (in short F.I.R.) dated 05.07.2025 bearing FIR/Case Crime No.0272 of 2025, under Sections 137(2) & 87 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Police Station-Fardhan, District-Lakhimpur Kheri, as contained in Annexure No.1 to the writ petition. 3.Attention has been drawn towards the impugned F.I.R. wherein the allegation has been levelled against three accused persons including the petitioner No.2. 4.Learned counsel for the petitioners has stated that the petitioner No.2, against whom the F.I.R has been lodged, has got married with petitioner No.1. Both the petitioners are major inasmuch as the PAN Card of the petitioner No.1 has been enclosed with the writ petition as Annexure No.2 showing her date of birth as 01.03.2006. The School Leaving Certificate of the petitioner No.2 has been annexed as Annexure No.2 with the writ petition showing his date of birth as 05.07.2002. Annexure No.3 of the writ petition is the Marriage Certificate of the petitioners issued on 04.08.2025 by Arya Samaj Shivpuri Kamta, Chinhat, Lucknow. On the date of marriage, as per their documents enclosed with the writ petition, they are major. 5.Learned counsel for the petitioners has stated that if two major persons have got married with each other on their free will and are living together as husband and wife, no one can harass them in any manner whatsoever. The investigation is going on and the petitioners are ready to cooperate in the investigation. 6.On the other hand, learned Additional Government Advocate as well as learned counsels for the opposite party No.4 have submitted that since the F.I.R. has been Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Lalji Prasad Shukla Counsel for Respondent(s) : G.A., Himanshu Singh Patel Reshma And Another .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P Thru. Secy. Home Deptt. Lko. And Others .....Respondent(s) lodged, therefore, the petitioners may be directed to appear before the Investigating Officer to cooperate in the investigation so that the investigation may be conducted properly and the Investigating Officer may reach its logical conclusion. 7.Therefore, having considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties and having perused the material available on record, without entering into merits of the issue, we hereby dispose of this writ petition finally at the admission stage directing the petitioners to appear before the Investigating Officer concerned on 02.09.2025 at 11:00 a.m. to record their statement. The petitioners shall not held-up in the police station unnecessarily and their statement shall be recorded immediately and after recording their statement, they shall not be harassed by the police authorities. The petitioner No.2 shall further cooperate in the investigation as and when his cooperation is so needed. 8.The Apex Court in the case of Lata Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another, 2006 (5) SCC 475, in para-17 has held as under:- "17. .... This is a free and democratic country, and once a person becomes a major he or she can marry whosoever he/she likes. If the parents of the boy or girl do not approve of such inter-caste or inter-religious marriage the maximum they can do is that they can cut-off social relations with the son or the daughter, but they cannot give threats or commit or instigate acts of violence and cannot harass the person who undergoes such inter-caste or inter-religious marriage. We, therefore, direct that the administration/police authorities throughout the country will see to it that if any boy or girl who is a major undergoes inter-caste or inter-religious marriage with a woman or man who is a major, the couple is not harassed by anyone nor subjected to threats or acts of violence, and anyone who gives such threats or harasses or commits acts of violence either himself or at his instigation, is taken to task by instituting criminal proceedings by the police against such persons and further stern action is taken against such persons as provided by law." 9. In the light of the aforesaid dictum of Apex Court, it is directed that the present petitioners shall not be harassed by the police authorities or by any individual. August 28,2025 Suresh/ CRLP No. 7420 of 2025 2 (Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J.) (Rajesh Singh Chauhan,J.) Digitally signed by :- SURESH CHANDRA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench