Marriage or life, liberty is sacrosanct

The ruling by the Delhi High Court on recognizing and respecting the individual’s choice to marry anyone of his or her liking is firm reiteration of the rights enshrined under Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution. Pronouncing the judgment on Tuesday, in a case of a brutal assault of a person by his wife’s relative in December last year, Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta denied bail to the mother and grandmother of the wife who were the main accused in his abduction, gruesome assault including amputation of the private parts of the victim with an axe.

The court held that the freedom of choice in marriage in accordance with law is an intrinsic part of Article 21 which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty and ought not to be subjected to societal approval. The ruling even cleared the mist that often clouds the marriage between persons professing different faiths and ruled that “even questions of faith have no bearing on an individual’s freedom to choose a life partner and are the essence of personal liberty”.

The case pertained to the bail applications of mother and grandmother of woman (Menka) who had married one Raman in a temple in Delhi last year. The duo were abducted at the behest of wife’s mother and grandmother who were opposed to the marriage and were the main culprits in provoking assault at Raman.

The victim was later thrown into a drain from where he was rescued by his relative and admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre. The ruling once again firmly rejects the opposition, be it from the family, society or the state, to interfere with the freedom of choice of two grown-up individuals to either get married or live together. The ruling endorses the Supreme Court’s observation in Shafin Jahan vs. Asokan case where the apex court had refused to annul the marriage of two youth Shafin Jahan with Hadiya, a couple of years ago. The celebrated case from Kerala however had further knots as Hadiya, daughter of Asokan had embraced Islam and was yet to attain the age of 18.

The Court had however sent Hadiya to a Women’s Hostel till she became a major and confirmed on oath her own free will to convert to Islam. While delivering the ruling the Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Delhi police for not acting expeditiously and sensitively in the case when the complainant (husband) had approached them. It has directed the Commissioner of Delhi Police to take due notice and ensure safety in cases where couples marrying out of their own free will and volition anticipate hostile action from the relatives or any other quarter. It has further directed the Police to sensitise the police force in dealing with such cases.

The current ruling is quite in line with previous rulings that have affirmed the right of choice of a life partner as integral to Article 21 that statutorily confers the right to choose a partner, which if denied would not only affect the individual’s human right but also his or her right to life and personal liberty.