U’khand HC orders protection for teenage live-in couple, directs UCC registration

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court granted police protection to a teenage live-in couple who approached the court after allegedly facing threats from the woman’s family over their decision to live together before marriage, and directed them to register their relationship under the state’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) provisions within a reasonable time.The couple, a 19-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man from the same religious background, told the court that they had been living together for about a month and intended to marry once the man reached the statutory age for marriage. Since the man is below the legal marriage age of 21, the couple sought protection for their present live-in arrangement rather than immediate marriage.Justice Alok Mahra found that a prima facie case had been made out for extending protection and directed the station house officer of Bajpur in Udham Singh Nagar district to assess the threat perception and provide appropriate security if any real danger was established. The court also directed that those allegedly issuing threats be counselled to follow the law and maintain lawful conduct.Advocate Rahul Adhikari, appearing for the couple, told TOI that the woman had studied up to Class 10, while the man worked as a daily-wage labourer and occasionally drove commercial vehicles. “They have both been living in the same locality for a long time. Upon learning of their relationship, the woman’s uncle, brother and cousins became angry and opposed their decision to live together,” Adhikari said.The petitioners argued that the threats violated their right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Their counsel relied on earlier judgments, including Supreme Court’s ruling in Lata Singh vs State of UP, to submit that the right to choose a partner is part of personal liberty and cannot be obstructed by family members or community pressure.The court, while granting protection, also directed the couple to register their live-in relationship under Section 381(1) of UCC within a reasonable time. The direction is significant because Uttarakhand’s UCC makes registration of live-in relationships mandatory, and the UCC framework requires the registrar to inform parents or guardians if either partner is below 21 years of age, bringing the couple’s formal registration into the same family conflict they had approached the court to address.The case also comes at a time when UCC provisions on live-in relationships have been under wider legal and public scrutiny in Uttarakhand, particularly over privacy, mandatory registration and state oversight of adult relationships. In this case, however, the court balanced the couple’s protection plea with the statutory requirement of registration under UCC and asked police to intervene only if a real threat was found.