PRAYAGRAJ: While reiterating that the religious conversion just for the purpose of marriage is unacceptable, the Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition filed by an inter-faith couple seeking directions to police and the girl's father not to interfere in their married life.
Dismissing a writ petition filed by Priyanshi alias Samreen and her partner, Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi said, “The court has perused the record in question and found that the first petitioner has converted her religion on June 29, 2020 and just after one month, they have solemnized their marriage on July 31, 2020, which clearly reveals to this court that the said conversion has taken place only for the purpose of marriage."
In the petition, the couple had stated that the couple had married in July this year but family members of the girl are interfering in the married life of the couple.
Rejecting their pleas, the court relied upon a previous judgment given by the Allahabad high court in the Noor Jahan Begum case in 2014 in which it was observed that conversion just for the purpose of marriage was unacceptable.
The court dismissed the writ petition saying that it is not inclined to interfere in the matter under Article 226 (writ jurisdiction) of the Constitution of India.
In Noor Jahan Begum case, this court had dismissed a bunch of writ petitions which were filed praying for protection as a married couple as they had tied the knot after the girls got her religion converted from Hinduism to Islam and then performed the Nikah.
The issue considered in the said case was "whether conversion of religion of a Hindu girl at the instance of a Muslim boy, without any knowledge of Islam or faith and belief in Islam and merely for the purpose of Marriage (Nikah) is valid?". The court at that time answered the question in negative while relying on teachings of the religious texts.
The court gave this decision on September 23.