Photos of runaway couple a distraction: High Court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 15

Photographs of runaway couple distract the court’s mind and have the potential of inviting needless comments from the Bench and waste its time, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted. Describing it as a “diversion” that can bring cases to “momentary standstill”, Justice Rajiv Narain Raina also directed the High Court Registry not to insist on photographs along with the protection petitions filed by the runaway couples.

Dubbing the task of hearing such matters as childlike, Justice Raina also suggested that an alternative system was required to be put in place for reducing the burden on the courts. Justice Raina asserted dealing with these petitions at the financial expense of runaway couples, actually believing that they would get a marriage certificate from the High Court, was no pleasure.

Making it clear that the practice deserved to be curtailed, Justice Raina asserted it was a big burden on the staff and drained the High Court resources from the filing stage to uploading the order.

The High Court was not built or meant for dealing with the parasitical non-litigation, Justice Raina asserted. “I believe it to be the most demeaning childlike work High Court judges have been forcibly tasked with by a creation of the ingenious Bar. A solution needs to be devised to cast the burden on some other alternative mechanism of redress, including amending the law and conferring such power on the subordinate judiciary etc”.

In its detailed order, Justice Raina asserted the court had no interest in looking at the pictures of the runaway couples, except curiosity. It needlessly brought the case to a brief halt even though a simple direction was sought and mechanically issued by the Bench based upon Article 21 of the Constitution. It was for saving from distress young couples apprehending physical harm from angry parents and families opposing the marriage. The truth of it was impossible to reach.

Justice Raina added a cottage industry had grown around these petitions over the years and time had come to trim them. The runaways may have little resources in their pocket. “The money spent abundantly on the thriving industry could well last the couple their necessities for quite a long time or at least till they live on love and fresh air,” Justice Raina asserted.