He's 21. She's 68. They're in love and the villain in the story, as this Indian Express exclusive finds, is the Delhi High Court, who finds the age difference between them 'questionable.' What however adds Bollywood-ian complexity is that Joan Pamela Gulvin is British and holds an Indian visa that will expire next month. Thus, unless Delhi High Court Judge R S Endlaw accedes, the Indian government won't allow her to stay on unless she has a valid visa as the legal spouse of her 21-year-old partner and appositely-named Hridayanath.
Hridayanath, a 21-year-old student at Delhi University from Uttar Pradesh, is currently living in with Gulvin and according to their lawyer, Atul Chaubey, the couple met online two years ago. She's made two trips to India and this August, when Hridayanath became legally eligible for marriage in August, the couple started the process to get married under India's Special Marriage Act.
When the couple went to register their marriage, they faced delays in getting a police verification. Matters went to court where the judge appears to see less of love and more the possibility of a green card fraud and human trafficking. The lawyer Chaubey has said that the observations of the court didn't seem supportive but Guvlin--for what it is worth--has permission to stay on in India till the case is in progress.
He implied that this was true love and not opportunism at work as Gulvin wanted to stay in Delhi with Hridayanth, who had broken off from his Gorakhpur family to be with Gulvin.
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