A Matter of Choice

In a far-reaching judgment, the Allahabad High Court has said that cases of religious conversion are irrelevant if both parties are adults and in a consenting relationship. This cannot be infringed upon by the State

- Shivam Sharma

IN a significant judgment, the Allahabad High Court has reiterated that a person’s right to live with the person of their choice, irrespective of religion, is intrinsic to their right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.

A bench comprising of Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal made the above observations while hearing a petition related to the marriage of a Hindu woman and a Muslim man. An FIR was lodged by the woman’s father alleging offences under Sections 363, 366, 352 and 506 of the IPC (kidnapping, abduction for forcing a woman to marry, etc.) and Sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The Court asserted that the matter of religious conversion was irrelevant if both the parties were adults and in a consenting relationship. The right of two adults to stay together cannot be encroached upon by the state.

It also advocated against State interference in a relationship between two adults, noting: “We fail to understand that if the law permits two persons even of the same sex to live together peacefully then neither any individual nor a family nor even State can have objection to relationship of two major individuals who out of their own free will are living together.”

Salamat and Priyanka Kharwar married against the will of her family on August 19, 2019, under Muslim customs. Kharwar became Alia after marriage. Her father filed an FIR and alleged that his daughter was seduced and taken away. After the FIR, the POCSO Act was invoked against the accused.