Delhi High Court Upholds Right to Marry Outside Faith
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Key Observations by the Court
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Article 21 – Right to Life & Personal Liberty:
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Protects the right to choose a life partner, including in interfaith marriages.
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Such choice is a matter of personal liberty and individual autonomy.
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Social & Familial Concerns:
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Parents’ emotional anguish is understandable but cannot override constitutional rights.
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Law shields such choices from external veto, coercion, or unlawful restraint.
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Legal Significance
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Reaffirms HC precedent and Supreme Court rulings (e.g., Lata Singh v. State of UP, 2006; Shafin Jahan v. Asokan, 2018) on adult autonomy in marriage.
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Strengthens judicial stance against honour-based threats in interfaith marriages.
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Emphasises state duty to protect consenting adults exercising constitutional freedoms.
Section 5 of the HMA (Hindu marriage act) outlines the conditions necessary for a Hindu marriage.
- It states that a marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus if certain conditions are met.
- These include the absence of a living spouse at the time of marriage, the capacity to give valid consent, the absence of mental disorders or recurrent attacks of insanity, and the attainment of the minimum age of twenty-one years for the bridegroom and eighteen years for the bride.
- Furthermore, the parties should not be within the degrees of prohibited relationship or be sapindas of each other, unless their custom or usage permits such a marriage.
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, does not apply to interfaith marriages where one or both parties are not Hindu.
For interfaith couples in India, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 provides a legal framework for marriage without requiring religious conversion.
- This act is specifically for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. It requires both parties to be Hindu for the marriage to be valid under its provisions.
- This act provides a secular way for couples of different religions to marry without needing to convert to the same religion
The Supreme Court has observed that any marriage between inter-faith couples under the Hindu Marriage Act is void and only Hindus can marry under the same law.