NOTICE NOT A MUST FOR INTER-FAITH MARRIAGES: ALLAHABAD HC

LUCKNOW: The mandatory display of notices for marriage of inter-faith couples will be optional from now, the Allahabad high court has ruled in an order that is likely to bring relief to inter-faith couples at a time when several states in the country have introduced laws that effectively regulate such marriages.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court ruled that the publication of notice for intended marriage under section 6 and inviting/entertaining objections under section 7 of the Special Marriage Act, will not be mandatory, observing that such notifications “invade in the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy” and affect a couple’s freedom to choose marriage “without interference from state and non-state actors”

Earlier, an inter-faith couple had to give written notice of the marriage to the district marriage officer.

Justice Vivek Chaudhary passed the judgment on January 12 on a habeus corpus petition filed by an inter-faith couple intending to marry. The order was uploaded on the high court’s website on Wednesday.

“This court mandates that while giving notice under section 5 of the (Special Marriage) Act of 1954, it shall be optional for the parties to the intended marriage to make a request in writing to the marriage officer to publish or not to publish a notice under section 6 and follow the procedure of objections

as prescribed under the Act,” the court said.

If the couple does not make a request for publicising the notice in writing, the marriage officer shall not publish any such notice or entertain objections to the marriage and proceed with the solemnisation of their union, the bench ruled.

The court, however, ruled that the marriage officer, while solemnising the marriage under the Special Marriage Act, has to verify the couple’s age and consent. In case they have any doubt, they will be allowed to ask for appropriate proof, it said.

It may be pointed out that after the Yogi Adityanath government promulgated the ordinance enforcing the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 — which outlaws religious conversions by marriage, coercion, deceit or enticement — the marriage officer has to publish the notice for a period of 30 days and invite objections. Any person can object to the marriage.

The court also observed that the matter could have come to an end at this stage, but for the views expressed by the young couple while interacting with the court during personal appearance.

The young couple expressed that they could have solemnised their marriage under the Special Marriage Act but it requires a 30-day notice to be published and objections to be invited from the public at large, the court said. “They expressed that any such notice would be an invasion in their privacy and would have definitely caused unnecessary social pressure/ interference in their free choice with regard to their marriage.”

The couple had stated that such a challenge was being faced by many couples who want to build a life with a partner of their own choice, the bench said.

Justice Chaudhary observed that it would be cruel and unethical to force the present generation living with its current needs and expectations to follow the customs and traditions adopted by a generation living nearly 150 years back for its social needs and circumstances, which violates fundamental rights.

COURT RULED THAT THE MARRIAGE OFFICER, WHILE SOLEMNISING THE MARRIAGE UNDER THE SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, HAS TO VERIFY THE COUPLE’S AGE AND CONSENT