2,000 runaway couples given protection in Ludhiana in 2 yrs
MAIN REASON BEHIND HIGH NUMBER OF CASES IS PRESENCE OF HUGE YOUNG MIGRANT WORKFORCE IN THE CITY
LUDHIANA:THE number of ‘runway couples’ seeking protection from court are high in Ludhiana with at least four couples on an average daily knocking the doors of the court, citing threat to their life and liberty from their families.
The numbers — 2,000 in last two years — are high in the industrial city due to the presence of huge migrant population which happens to be the main workforce in factories, judicial officers dealing with the cases say.
“Another reason behind the spurt in such cases is that it is easier to approach a local court as compared to the high court, which happens to be in Chandigarh,” said a court official, pleading anonymity.
As per the figures with the Ludhiana district courts, over 2,000 couples have been provided protection by the court of district and sessions judge of Gurbir Singh, empowered by the high court in 2016 to decide such cases. While most couples approaching the court claim they are married, there are others who happen to be in a live-in relation and they too seek protection.
“Inter-religious and intercaste marriages are being solemnised for ages, but the trend is on an upswing here lately as the migrant youth get married to a partner of his/her choice, ignoring the wishes of their family members who want them to get married to a match of their choice in their native villages,” said an official.
A total of 955 couples sought protection in 2018, and the figure was 984 in 2017. Monthly figures show that every month, over 90 such couples come to court with the plea for protection.
In one such petition moved by a couple recently, it was stated that the couple got married against the wishes of the bride’s parents on February 27.
“We apprehend danger to our life and liberty,” the couple mentioned in the plea before the court. The girl, a college-going student in Ludhiana, had eloped with a migrant boy from Sahnewal village. The court while granting them protection, however, categorically said “this order is not a proof of valid marriage between the petitioners”, while simultaneously directing the Khanna police to provide protection to them.