JUDGMENT :

JASGURPREET SINGH PURI, J.

1. The present petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with a prayer for grant of protection of lives and liberty of the petitioners.

2. The learned counsel has submitted that petitioner No.1 (boy) aged 22 years, is of marriageable age whereas petitioner No.2 is aged 17 years and 6 months and therefore, is 6 months short of the marriageable age permissible under the law.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to para 3 of the petition wherein it is a categoric stand of the petitioners that petitioner Nos.1 and 2 are having love affair with each other and they wanted to marry with each other but because of the age of petitioner No.2 (girl) who is only 6 months short of the marriageable age, they do not want to marry till the time petitioner No.2 attains the age of majority. However, the parents of petitioner No.2 are forcing petitioner No.2 to marry some old age person from Uttar Pradesh and even some people had come to the house of petitioner No.2 to perform engagement ceremony with the person who is 40 years of age.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners has further submitted that petitioner No.2 does no