Viral Kumbh Mela girl’s husband booked under SC/ST Act, MP Police tells Kerala HC

The Madhya Pradesh Police on Friday told the Kerala High Court that an offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act had been added against Farmaan, the husband of the viral Kumbh Mela girl, and therefore the anticipatory bail plea filed by the couple was not maintainable.

The submission was made by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, before Justice Kauser Edappagath, who was hearing the couple’s plea seeking pre-arrest bail in a case registered after the girl’s father accused Farmaan of abducting his daughter.

During the hearing, the couple also sought permission to amend their bail petition. “The offence falls under the Atrocities Act. Section 3(2)(v) has been invoked. Because of Section 18 of the SC/ST Act, anticipatory bail is not maintainable,” the ASG told the court, adding that the woman belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community while Farmaan does not.

Under the SC/ST Act, anticipatory bail is barred in cases involving offences registered under the law.

The court said it would extend the interim protection granted to the couple till Tuesday, June 2, and would hear further arguments if it decides to allow the amendment plea.

During the hearing, the ASG also objected to the amendment application filed by the couple, arguing that it was an attempt to address shortcomings pointed out by the State during earlier arguments. Justice Kauser, however, observed that the petition already contained sufficient pleadings and that only the “exact wording” was missing.

Last week, the Madhya Pradesh government had also challenged the maintainability of the plea, arguing that anticipatory bail petitions can only be filed in the State where the crime was registered. Since the case was registered in Madhya Pradesh, the State argued that the Kerala High Court could not entertain the plea.

The young woman became widely known during the Maha Kumbh celebrations last year after videos of her selling rudraksha garlands went viral on social media.

In March this year, while in Kerala for a film shoot, she approached local police alleging that her family was opposing her marriage to Farmaan. The couple later got married.

The controversy deepened after the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) claimed that the girl was allegedly a minor at the time of the marriage and that forged documents may have been used to facilitate the wedding. Following this, Madhya Pradesh Police registered a case against Farmaan under the POCSO Act.

(With LiveLaw inputs)