In a significant judgement, the Allahabad high court has said that two adults have the right to choose their partners irrespective of their religious affiliations and no one, not even their parents, can 'interfere' in their relationship.
A division bench comprising justice Deepak Verma and justice Manoj Kumar Gupta made the observations on a petition filed by a Muslim woman and her Hindu partner seeking security as they apprehended a threat to their life from their respective families.
"Two adults have the right of choice of their matrimonial partner irrespective of the religion professed by them.....nobody, not even their parents, could object to their relationship," the court said in its order.
The couple said in their petition that they were in love with each other and had been living together "out of their will". They also said that since they hailed from different religions their relationship was not approved by their families and that they apprehended a threat to their life. The woman had also said in the petition that she had applied for converting to Hinduism.
The court also directed the police to ensure that the couple was not harassed by their families.
In the past, inter-faith couples have faced threats to their lives and approached the courts for protection. The Uttar Pradesh government had recently enacted a law to prevent religious conversions and 'love jihad'. There have also been incidents of attacks on inter-faith couples, especially in cases where the girl hailed from the Hindu community, by saffron outfits.
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