Court allows teen to marry loverBy : Brenda Lim
Source: www.nst.com.my
IPOH: After running away from home and spending a night in a police lock-up early last month, 18-year-old Rajinder Kaur will finally be able to marry the man of her choice.
The High Court on Monday granted an order which allowed Rajinder to marry 22-year-old L. Jagathiesan. From the witness stand Rajinder declared publicly that Jagathiesan, a security guard, was her husband, causing a stir among lawyers and members of the public who were present in court. When judge Datuk V.T. Singham asked how this was possible as she was still single, Rajinder said: “We've already had intimate relations. He is my husband.”
When asked about her father objecting to the “marriage", she told the court it was because they were of different races - she a Punjabi and Jagathiesan, a Tamil.
Rajinder also said that she had come to court voluntarily and was not influenced or forced by anyone to make her statements.
Rajinder also said that she had come to court voluntarily and was not influenced or forced by anyone to make her statements.
Jagathiesan's father, T. Logidasan, had filed a suit at the end of August seeking a court order to allow his son and Rajinder to be married.
Rajinder could not get consent from her father, which was necessary for marriages involving persons under the age of 21.
According to affidavits filed with the court, Rajinder knew Jagathiesan since she was 14 years old while she was still studying at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bidor.
When her parents objected to the relationship, she ran away from home and lodged a police report at the Tapah police station on July 11.
In her report, she said that she was voluntarily leaving with Jagathiesan whom she loved and wanted to be with.
She also claimed that her family beat her, treated her roughly, and were making arrangements for her to marry another man.
“If I can't marry the one I love, I would rather kill myself than marry someone else,” she said in her police report, claiming that she was afraid of her family interfering and was appealing to the police for help.
On the same day, her parents lodged two police reports.
