MP High Court Shields Kumbh Mela Couple From Arrest Till Next Hearing

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday granted interim protection to a woman who came into the national spotlight during the 2025 Mahakumbh in Prayagraj and her husband, directing authorities not to take any coercive or punitive action against them until the next hearing in a criminal case.

Hearing the couple's writ petition, Justice Gajendra Singh of the Indore bench observed that no coercive action should be initiated against the petitioners in connection with the FIR registered at Maheshwar Police Station in Khargone district until the matter is heard again. The court has scheduled the next hearing for the week beginning July 27 .

The petition challenges the cancellation of the woman's birth certificate by the Maheshwar Municipal Council, alleging that the action was taken without following due legal procedure. According to the couple, the cancellation ultimately led to the registration of a criminal case against the husband.

The FIR invokes multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) , the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act , and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act . Earlier, a special POCSO court had rejected the husband's anticipatory bail plea.

Appearing for the husband, senior advocate Vivek Krishna Tankha and advocate Jerry Lopes argued the case, while Additional Advocate General Rahul Sethi and government advocate Suneet Kapoor represented the state.

The petition claims the woman's birth records were deliberately altered as part of a conspiracy to portray her as a minor at the time of marriage. It states that the couple married at a temple in Kerala on March 11 , and that her actual date of birth is January 1, 2008 , as reflected in her original birth certificate, Aadhaar , PAN card , and other official documents.

The couple further alleged that the marriage faced family opposition, that official records were manipulated after the wedding, and that the interfaith union was wrongly projected as a case of " love jihad ", creating concerns over their safety and legal rights.