Upholding the right to liberty and privacy

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the fundamental right to liberty and privacy with its ruling that a 30-day notice is not mandatory for those seeking to get married under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954. The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition, which stated that an adult woman was being forcibly detained for wanting to marry a man of another faith. She had converted to Hinduism but was prevented from proceeding with her marriage by her father. The petition sought her release. The ruling clears a significant obstacle for interfaith marriages and curtails State interference in personal relationships.

Though this ruling has no direct link to the controversial Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, it comes in the backdrop of an ugly campaign by right-wing forces against what they term “love jihad” when referring to interfaith marriages. The ruling puts the provisions of SMA on a par with personal laws which require no notice period. The executive must follow up on the court ruling by cracking down on vigilante groups, which have harassed couples seeking to get married under SMA.

The law is meant to resolve conflict, not create it — which is what the 30-day notice was doing in the case of many people wishing to marry under SMA. Until now, couples faced the prospect of social persecution, even violence, when seeking to marry outside their faith. The Supreme Court has repeatedly stressed the importance of the individual’s autonomy in personal relationships as per articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The high court ruling that the notice period for a marriage under SMA is voluntary and not mandatory is a firm reiteration of liberty as a fundamental right in personal matters.