HC offers relief to husband of viral Kumbh Mela star, grants transit anticipatory bail

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted transit anticipatory bail to the husband of viral Kumb Mela star, Mohammed Farmaan, allowing him a month's time to approach the courts in Madhya Pradesh for seeking bail.

Dr Justice Kauser Edappagath granted the bail to Farmaan, who is arrayed as an accused in a crime registered by the Madhya Pradesh police based on the girl's father's complaint.

"Bail application is disposed with liberty to the applicant to approach the jurisdictional court and seek for anticipatory bail in accordance with law within a period of one month from today. The Applicant No. 1 shall not be arrested till the expiry of the said one month," the court pronounced.

The court was considering the anticipatory bail plea of the interfaith couple. After hearing detailed arguments, the court had reserved its verdict yesterday.

According to the prosecution, Farmaan allegedly committed offences under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and POCSO Act, as well as offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including abduction, forgery, etc. They alleged that the second petitioner was a minor at the time of the marriage and that the marriage certificate was forged.

The petitioners' counsel, Advocate M Sasindran, had submitted that the couple fell in love while filming and they decided to get married in Neyyattinkara, Kerala. Even though the second petitioner's father was initially amenable to the marriage, after he returned to Madhya Pradesh, he was won over by some fundamentalists, which is why he preferred the complaint.

The counsel also argued that the second petitioner has filed a separate affidavit stating the actual facts and that she was an adult at the time of the marriage. Her Aadhar card, Election ID, and bank account details were produced to prove her age.

Additionally, the counsel also pointed out the threats of honour killing if they return to Madhya Pradesh. It was further told that the entire State machinery in Madhya Pradesh is conspiring and acting to make it as if the second petitioner was a minor, and has resorted to cancelling her actual birth certificate and using a forged certificate belonging to her younger brother. She had also filed a plea before the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the cancellation of her birth certificate.

The Madhya Pradesh authorities opposed the bail plea and stated that it was not maintainable. ASG SV Raju stated that the bail application did not contain sufficient pleadings to support why Kerala High Court was approached instead of the courts in Madhya Pradesh when the crime was registered in MP. He cited the Supreme Court decision of Priya Indoria versus State of Karnataka.

Later, it was pointed out that offences under the SC/ST Act have also been incorporated against Farmaan. Therefore, the anticipatory bail plea is non-maintainable in the light of the bar under Section 18 of the SC/ST Act.

Earlier, the court had granted the couple interim protection from arrest after perusing the marriage certificate they had produced in their plea.

(With LiveLaw Inputs)