Key Points:
- The case against Salamaat and Priyanka (Alia) was rejected as a whole by the Allahabad High Court on Monday which was filed against a Muslim Man by the parents of his wife, who converted from Hinduism to Islam in the year 2019 to marry him.
- The High Court said that the right to choose a partner regardless of caste, creed or religion is intrinsic to life and personal liberty.
- The High Court also added that 2014 and 2020 judgements that objected to religious conversion for the purpose of marriage, DID NOT LAY DOWN GOOD LAWS.
On November 24, 2020, the Allahabad High Court gave judgement to a long running case. The case was rejected as a whole by the High Court which was filed against a Muslim Man by the parents of his wife, who converted from Hinduism to Islam in the year 2019 to marry him.
The High Court said that the right to choose a partner regardless of caste, creed or religion is intrinsic to life and personal liberty.
The bench comprised of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Justice Vivek Agarwal and was hearing a petition by Salamat Ansari and Priyanka Kharwar identified Alia to withdraw a police complaint against them by Priyanka’s (now Alia) father. The two were identified as majors (aged 18+) and hence, capable to choose their life partners. The court agreed with the petitioners, Salamat and Alia who are residents of Kushinagar district, Uttar Pradesh.
“We do not see Priyanka Kharwar and Salamat as Hindu and Muslim, rather as two grown-up individuals who out of their own free will and choice are living together peacefully and happily over a year,”
the bench held.“An individual on attaining majority is lawfully given a right to choose a partner, which if denied would not only affect his/her human right but also his/her right to life and personal liberty, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,”
observed the bench.
The judgement also contravened the two previous judgements – one in the year 2014 and the latest in 2020. The High Court also added that these judgements that objected to religious conversion for the purpose of marriage, DID NOT LAY DOWN GOOD LAWS. “We hold the judgments in the Noor Jahan and Priyanshi (cases) as not laying good law. None of these judgments dealt with the issue of life and liberty of two matured individuals in choosing a partner or their right to freedom of choice as to with whom they would like to live,” the two-judge bench held.
A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Pankaj Naqvi held that the judgments in Noor Jahan and Priyanshi as not laying good law pic.twitter.com/qgbsHVeskx
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 23, 2020
What are the Noor Jahaan and Priyanshi Cases?
- In the Noor Jahan case, the HC had dismissed a batch of writ petitions asking for protection of a married couple where the woman converted from Hinduism to Islam.
- In the Priyanshi case, a Muslim woman converted to marry a Hindu man, and the couple approached the court for police protection.
Dismissing the argument, the bench said, “To disrespect the choice of a person who is of the age of majority would not only be contradicting to the freedom of choice of a grown-up individual but would also be a threat to the concept of unity in diversity.”
