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“Neither any individual nor a family nor even State can have objection to relationship of two major individuals who out of their own free will are living together.”- Allahabad High Court.
In the case of Salamat Ansari and others vs. State of U.P and others, the High Court of Allahabad held that it the intrinsic rights of the majors to choose a person of their choice to live with. This right to live with a person of their choice forms an inalienable part of the right to life and personal liberty irrespective of religion. This instant writ petition was filed by petitioners pleading the court to quash the FIR filed by the father stating that his daughter (petitioner no. 2) was forced to be converted to Islam by renouncing Hinduism. It was observed that the marriage of the accused happed as per Muslim rites and rituals, the petitioner renounced her Hindu identity and embraced Islam. This couple was also living together as husband and wife for the last one year peacefully and happily.
The Court observed that irrespective of religion right to live with a person of one’s choice is intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty. A bench of justices Vivek Agarwal and Pankaj Naqvi held that in these sort of cases where there is an allegation of false religious conversion for the sake of marriage then, the decision should always be vested on the girls as they were above the age of 18 years. The Bench also commented on the previously passed judgments of Noor Jahan and Priyanshi stating that these judgments did not consider the right to life and liberty of the two matured individuals in choosing their life partners. Two matured individuals have freedom of choice as to with whom they would like to live. In the light of which the court pronounced that two judgments (Noor Jahan and Priyanshi) as bad in law.
Further, it was held that the courts are to uphold the constitutional values enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. When the law permits two persons of the same-sex to live together peacefully then no individual or state or family should object to the relationship of two mature individuals who out of their own free will are living together. Therefore the court allowed the writ petition and quashed the FIR.
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