A Special POCSO Court in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, has rejected the anticipatory bail application of Farman Khan, the husband of the Kumbh Mela-fame girl. The couple, who live in Kochi, had moved the Kerala High Court seeking an extension of police protection. They have not informed the High Court about the rejection of the anticipatory bail application.
The Kerala High Court had granted Farman one month to approach the Madhya Pradesh court. It is not clear what the High Court’s decision will now be. Moreover, since the Madhya Pradesh POCSO Court has rejected Farman’s anticipatory bail application, it appears that the court does not accept the couple’s argument that the girl is a major.
The Hindu girl, who became an internet sensation after going viral for selling garlands at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, married her boyfriend, Farman Khan, in March 2026 at the Sri Nainar Deva Temple in Kerala.
The interfaith wedding attracted significant media attention and social scrutiny, prompting the couple to seek police protection.
CPM State Secretary M.V. Govindan, DYFI leader and MP A.A. Rahim, and the then Education Minister V. Sivankutty attended the wedding and blessed the couple.
The CPM leaders repeatedly stated that “this is Keralam”, which, according to critics, implied that interfaith marriages are protected and considered a normal affair, and that any law and order issues arising from such matters would be managed. They ignored the girl’s parents’ contention that she was a minor. The marriage sparked a legal dispute after her father alleged that she was a minor and filed a kidnapping case.
If the judiciary declares that the girl was a minor at the time of the marriage, a POCSO case would naturally arise. In that event, questions may be raised regarding the position of the senior CPM leaders in Kerala who attended and endorsed the wedding—questions that they may seek to avoid or brush aside.
