781/2024 Const. P. Mst. Nazia & another (Petitioner) V/S Province of Sindh & others (Respondent)

781/2024 Const. P. Mst. Nazia & another (Petitioner) V/S Province of Sindh & others (Respondent) Sindh High Court

Bench: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon(Author) Order Date: 23-SEP-24

Primarily, 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 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 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. However, the above observation is without prejudice to the legal rights of the parties, if any, pending before the competent court of law.