Bengaluru: Days after Uttar Pradesh made inter-caste marriage almost impossible in the name of ‘love jihad’, Karnataka High Court has ruled that it is the fundamental right of any adult in India to marry the person of his or her choice, irrespective of caste and religion, and that right cannot be encroached upon by anybody.
The High Court was hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by a software engineer, Wajeed, to produce Ramya, alleging that she was being confined against her will by her parents who were opposed to their upcoming marriage.
She told the court that she has decided to marry the petitioner, who is her colleague, but that her parents had not consented to the marriage.
“It is well settled that a right of any major individual to marry the person of his/her choice is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India and the said liberty relating to the personal relationships of two individuals cannot be encroached by anybody irrespective of caste or religion,” the Karnataka High Court bench of Justices S Sujatha and Sachin Shankar Magadum ruled.
The court added that Ramya is capable of making her own decisions and ordered the Mahila Dakshatha Samithi, where she is currently housed, to release her immediately.
The Court said that the habeas corpus ended as Ramya has been produced. Now it is up to her to decide on her marriage as she is an adult.