Panchayat allows woman to live with lover in UP after husband seeks 'end' of marriage
A youth, held hostage by the woman's in-laws and charged with having an affair with the married woman was also present when the panchayat announced the order.
A village panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district allowed a woman to live with her alleged lover after her husband and in-laws accused her of adultery and approached the village council requesting permission to "end the marriage".
A youth, held hostage by the woman's in-laws and charged with having an affair with the married woman was also present when the panchayat announced the order, effectively annulling the three-month old marriage.
Badsari village head Kamlesh Singh confirmed the incident and said Mukesh Rajbhar of Badsari Jagir married Annu Rajbhar of Parsiya village on May 28, 2025.
On August 31, Annu's in-laws took one Anish Rajbhar of Kaithauli village hostage and accused the two of an extra marital affair, villagers said.
A village panchayat was convened at the request of Mukesh's family on Monday where the issue was discussed at length, they added.
Mukesh told the panchayat that his wife was "disloyal" and expressed his unwillingness to live with Annu. The village council, then, announced that the marriage had been terminated.
SHO of Maniyar, Kaushal Pathak, on Tuesday said that no complaint has been filed on the issue.
"We, too, heard about the panchayat decision reached through mutual consent. Since we haven't received any complaint from anyone on this issue, no case has been registered in this connection," Pathak said.
