Amid the controversy over his marriage, the Madras High Court has, on Friday, ruled in favor of ADMK MLA Prabhu and upheld that the legislator can take his wife with him as his wife was an adult when she got married. By pronouncing a relief to the legislator, the High court has dismissed the petition filed by Prabhu's wife Soundharya's father Swaminathan, and closed the case. 

Kallakurichi ADMK MLA Prabhu (35) had recently married 19-year-old Soundarya at his residence in the presence of his family members. While Prabhu belongs to the backward caste, Soundarya belongs to the upper caste and she is the daughter of Swaminathan, who is the priest in the local temple in Kallakurichi. Both of them were said to have been in a relationship and they had married recently against the wish of Soundarya's father. 

The marriage took place at Prabhu's residence and during the ceremony, Swaminathan had arrived at the residence, doused himself in a kerosene-like substance, and threatened to set himself on fire after he accused Prabhu of abducting his daughter and forcing her to get him married. While the inter-caste marriage by the legislator was welcomed, the allegations from the bride's father had stirred controversies. 

Speaking to the media, Soundarya's father Swaminathan said that Prabhu had lured his daughter with kind words and abducted her on October 1 at around 4 pm. Prabhu has been friendly with his family for the past 15 years and he has been in love with his daughter for the past four years when the latter was a minor. However, after the marriage, Prabhu had released a video in which he claimed that " "There have been some rumors on the marriage that I kidnapped Soundarya, threatened to kill her, and forcing her to marry me. All that did not happen". 

"We have been in love for the past four months. When I approached her family, asking her hand in marriage, her family had refused after which we decided to get married with my parent's permission. I did not threaten her or her family in the marriage. We fell in love and married each other", Prabhu added. However, Soundarya's father stood strong with his allegations and he approached the Madras High Court on Monday by alleging that his daughter had been abducted by the Dalit MLA and was forced to marry him. 

In his petition, Swaminathan said he was threatened by the MLA's family and he filed a habeas corpus asking to produce his daughter before the court. He further claimed that Prabhu was in an illegal relationship with his daughter for three years, before she became an adult. Following his petition, the Madras High Court bench comprised of Justices MM Sundaresh and Krishnakumar had ordered the authorities to produce Soundarya before the bench on Friday. 

As per the court order, Soundarya came to court with her husband MLA Prabhu on Friday and asserted to the high court bench that she is an adult and nobody has forced her to get married. She claimed that she and Prabhu were in love and decided to marry each other. She added that she is going with her husband on her own will. Following her assertion, the High Court had ruled in favor of MLA Prabhu and permitted him to take his wife with him. 

The court had observed that Swaminathan's plea of abducting her daughter won't hold the merit and it has closed the case by citing the fact that Soundarya is an adult and she has decided to go with her husband.