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An Internet chat room romance between a Bangalore-based college student and a beauty parlour owner in Kochi, Kerala, has ended up in the courtroom.
The Kerala high court will decide the fate of 20-year-old microbiology student Nisha and N Srinivasan, a men's salon owner in the second week of December.
A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice A K Basheer on Friday allowed Nisha's father K Rajendran to take his daughter with him for 18 days. Her view will be ascertained after this period.
According to information available, Nisha and Srinivasan completed the process of marriage as per Hindu custom as soon as she arrived in Kochi on November 15. They also submitted an application to the authorities at the Marad registration office for legalizing the marriage.
Rajendran, who is an employee of the Reserve Bank of India at Bangalore, caught Nisha when she was waiting for the mandatory one-month time to register her marriage. In his habeas corpus petition filed in the high court, Rajendran alleged that Srinivasan used a fake name while chatting with his daughter.
He said Nisha, who browsed the Internet regularly, had mentioned the name of her chat friend as Hari in her diary.
Nisha left her home on November 14, saying she was going on a tour of Kerala with her friends. She was due to return to Bangalore on November 17. Rajendran, however, received a telephone call from Srinivasan saying Nisha was with him. Later she also called and said she was safe in Kerala.
Rajendran and his relatives went to Kochi and traced Srinivasan's uncle, who took them to the house where the two were staying. The high court has served notice to Srinivasan, his uncle Gopi and his friend Francis in connection with the habeas corpus petition.
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