The Delhi High Court on Thursday criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police for arresting two relatives of a man had married a woman against the wishes of her family, The Indian Express reported. The court said that the Uttar Pradesh Police cannot arrest people from Delhi’s jurisdiction.

“This will not work in Delhi, this illegal action that you come to Delhi, pick up people and then show arrest from Shamli,” the court said. “We won’t allow this here. It might work in Uttar Pradesh, but won’t work here.”

Justice Mukul Gupta was hearing a petition of a couple who got married on July 1 out of their own free will. The woman’s parents have been opposed to the marriage and threatening the couple.

On the intervening night of August 6 and 7, the Uttar Pradesh Police took away the man’s father and brother from Delhi based on a complaint by the woman’s mother. However, the Delhi Police said that the officers from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli town had not informed them of their arrival to the National Capital to make the arrests.

The whereabouts of the man’s relatives are still unknown, the couple told the court.

The court said that the Uttar Pradesh Police had violated law at every step by arresting the man’s relatives from Delhi. “We have no solution for you if you work with your eyes shut,” the court said. “You have to come to Delhi, intimate the local station, and then proceed with your investigation. You cannot pick up anyone at your will.”

The court also asked for CCTV footage of the arrest. It added that a departmental enquiry against Uttar Pradesh Police will be carried out if they had entered Delhi to make the arrests, Live Law reported.

It also observed that Uttar Pradesh Police had not verified the complaint before arresting the man’s relatives.

“If you [station house officer] and your IO [investigating officer] don’t know how to read a case then I don’t have a solution to it,” the court said. “You get information to arrest the family members of the man but don’t get information to investigate the matter?”

The court also asked the police why it had not verified the woman’s age before proceeding with the investigation, The Indian Express reported. The man’s brother and father were arrested under Indian Penal Code 366 which provides for punishment in case a person kidnaps a woman – even a minor – to compel her to marry.

“Did you ask whether the girl is major or not? If she is major, will her will prevail or her parents?” the court asked. “When you investigate, you don’t ask the complainant? Start arresting the accused?”

The court has now requested the police to record the girl’s statement, who is 21 years old. It added that the couple will not be allowed to be taken outside Delhi, The Indian Express reported. “You cannot take the couple to Uttar Pradesh to harass them,” it said.

It also asked the station house officer to file an affidavit on what efforts have been taken by the Uttar Pradesh Police to find the woman, if they came to Delhi, according to Live Law.