“The right to marry is an incident of human liberty. The right to marry a person of one’s choice is not only underscored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but is also an integral facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the right to life,” the Delhi High Court said.
File photo of the Delhi High Court. (Photo credit: PTI)
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, while protecting an interfaith couple, said that the right to marry is an incident of human liberty and the choice of a life partner cannot be affected by matters of faith and religion.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee was hearing a plea of an interfaith couple seeking direction to the authorities concerned to provide them protection from the threats of the woman’s family who were opposed to their marriage.
The interfaith couple, both majors, got married in July this year under the Special Marriage Act against the wishes of their families and stated that they were facing threats from the family members of the woman after their marriage.
Allowing the plea of the couple, Justice Banerjee said that it is not for the state, society or even the parents of the parties involved to dictate the choice of life partner of a person or curtail and limit such rights involving two consenting adults, news agency PTI reported.
‘The right to marry is an incident of human liberty’
The High Court further said that the right to marry a person of one’s choice is an integral facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the right to life and the petitioners before it are adults and they are well within their rights to marry each other without getting affected by religion, faith and beliefs.
“The right to marry is an incident of human liberty. The right to marry a person of one’s choice is not only underscored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but is also an integral facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the right to life,” the High Court said.
The High Court, while directing the authorities to share the contact details of police officers concerned with the petitioners for contacting them in case the interfaith couple needed any help, added that “the choice to choose a life partner cannot in any way be affected by matters of faith and religion. When the Constitution of India guarantees to each individual the right to freely practice, profess and propagate any religion, it also guarantees every individual the autonomy for these aspects in matters of marriage.”
The High Court further said that the couple does not need any social approval for their personal decisions and choices and the parents of the woman cannot be permitted to threaten the life and liberty of the couple.
“Article 21 of the Constitution gives protection of life and personal liberty to all persons whereby it is the inherent right of every individual to exercise personal choices, especially in matter relating to marriage. Thus, in the opinion of this court, the petitioners herein are well and truly entitled for protection under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the High Court said.
