In a significant observation, the Karnataka High Court said that it is a fundamental right of any adult in the country to marry the person of his or her choice, irrespective of caste and religion, and the right cannot be encroached upon by anyone.
‘It is well settled that a right of any major individual to marry the person of his/her choice is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution of India and the said liberty relating to the personal relationships of two individuals cannot be encroached by anybody irrespective of caste or religion,’ the court said.
The ruling comes at a time when many states in India have been bringing laws to discourage interfaith marriages, citing increasing instances of ‘love jihad’- an alleged activity under which young Muslim men reportedly target young girls belonging to non-Muslim communities for conversion to Islam by feigning love.
The bench of justices comprising S Sujatha and Sachin Shankar Magadum made the observation last week while disposing of a habeas corpus plea. The petition was filed by a 25-year-old software engineer, Wajeed Khan, over the refusal of the parents of his partner, to acknowledge their interfaith marriage.
He had filed a petition with the Bengaluru Police as respondents, seeking the production of his fiancee Ramya G, a software engineer, and ‘to set her at her liberty’.
Ramya, when brought to the court said that she had been staying in an NGO, Mahila Daskshata Samiti, in Bengaluru, after her parents refused to get her married to Khan. She left from home after filing a complaint alleging infringement of liberty by her parents, she told the court in the presence of her parents and Khan’s mother who was summoned by the court.
‘It is well settled that a right of any major individual to marry the person of his/her choice is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India and the said liberty relating to the personal relationships of two individuals cannot be encroached by anybody irrespective of caste or religion,’ the bench said in its November 27 order while setting Ramya at liberty.
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