State can't force adult woman to return to parental home: Bombay High Court

Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) An adult woman is legally competent to decide where she wants to live and a state auhority can not force her to return to her parents' home, the Bombay High Court has said, ordering Telangana Police not to take any coercive action against a 21-year-old woman. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted in the July 2 order, a copy of which was made available on Tuesday, that the woman had left her parents' home in Hyderabad voluntarily. She was an adult person and legally competent to decide where she wished to reside, whether she wished to marry and whether she desired to pursue higher education, the court said. "These are matters of personal choice and a part of rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Neither her parents nor the State can compel her to return to her parental home against her wishes," the HC said. Police could not treat the woman as a missing person or take coercive measures to ensure that she returned to her parents' home, the judges added. The woman's petition, filed through senior advocate Mihir Desai, said that she left her adoptive parents' home in June 2026 as she was unwilling to marry a cousin who is a decade older. Her family was extremely conservative and orthodox, she said, alleging that she was subjected to emotional trauma and not allowed to pursue her graduation or get a job. She also sought protection from the threats and harassment she was facing from the family. The high court, after speaking with the woman, noted that she was working with an NGO and staying in Mumbai as a paying guest. According to the petition, she was adopted when she was two months old. The woman's mother submitted an affidavit assuring that she would not be forced to marry against her wishes and there would be no obstruction to her higher studies. But the young woman told the court that she was not willing to return home. The court ordered the Telangana police to take steps to close the missing person report lodged by the woman's parents and said she shall not be compelled to return to her parental home. PTI SP KRK