Kochi, June 3 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted transit anticipatory bail to Mohammed Farmaan, husband of Kumbh Mela viral sensation Monalisa Bhosle, in a criminal case registered by Madhya Pradesh Police following a complaint filed by her father.

Justice Kauser Edappagath granted Farmaan one month’s protection from arrest, allowing him time to approach the appropriate courts in Madhya Pradesh and seek regular anticipatory bail.

The court directed that Farmaan shall not be arrested until the expiry of the one month.

The order came while considering the anticipatory bail plea filed by the inter-faith couple.

The court had reserved its verdict on Tuesday after hearing detailed arguments from both sides.

Farmaan has been booked under various provisions including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including allegations of abduction and forgery.

The Madhya Pradesh Police case alleges that Monalisa was a minor at the time of marriage and that Farmaan obtained the marriage certificate through fraudulent means.

Appearing for the couple, advocate M. Sasindran argued that the allegations were false and that the couple had fallen in love while filming and later decided to marry at Neyyattinkara in Kerala.

He submitted that Monalisa’s father had initially accepted the relationship but later changed his stand after returning to Madhya Pradesh.

The counsel told the court that Monalisa had filed an affidavit explaining the circumstances of the marriage and asserting that she was an adult at the time.

Her Aadhaar card, election identity card and bank account details were produced as evidence of her age.

The couple also informed the court that they feared threats, including possible honour violence, if they returned to Madhya Pradesh.

They alleged that attempts were being made to portray Monalisa as a minor by cancelling her original birth certificate and relying on another certificate allegedly belonging to her younger brother.

Monalisa has already approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging the cancellation of her birth certificate.

Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh authorities, argued that the Kerala High Court was not the appropriate forum since the case was registered in Madhya Pradesh.

He relied on a Supreme Court judgment regarding the jurisdiction of courts in transit bail matters.

The prosecution also argued that since offences under the SC/ST Act had been invoked, the anticipatory bail plea was not maintainable due to statutory restrictions.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court granted interim protection from arrest to the couple after examining the marriage certificate produced by them.

The latest order provides temporary relief to Farmaan but leaves the larger legal battle over the marriage, age dispute and allegations raised by the Madhya Pradesh Police to be decided by the competent courts.

–IANS

sg/dpb