Marriage to a person of choice is a fundamental right: High Court

Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court has passed a landmark judgment amid heated debate on the so-called ‘love jihad’ law in the BJP-ruled states of the country. It is a fundamental right of any knowledgeable person to choose his mate voluntarily. The Constitution has given this right to every citizen of the country, commented the Karnataka High Court.

Earlier, the Allahabad court had given a similar verdict in a case. The Allahabad court had said that a knowledgeable citizen has the right to marry the person of his choice.

Wajid Khan, a resident of Bangalore, had filed his petition in the Karnataka High Court on November 27. No one can encroach on this freedom given by the Constitution to two persons in private relations. The Karnataka High Court had also ruled that religion or caste did not matter.

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What’s the matter?

A bench of Justices S Sujata and Sachin Shankar Mangadam was hearing a petition filed by two software professionals. In it, Wahid Khan was married to a girl named Ramya. Ramya was currently under the care of the Women’s Protection Committee. Wahid had filed a petition for the release of his wife.

Wajid Khan, a software engineer from Bangalore, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court seeking the release of his colleague and wife, software engineer wife Ramya, before the court.

Following the court order, the police produced Ramya before the court. Ramya’s parents Gangadhar and Girija and Wajid Khan’s mother Srilakshmi were also present in the court during the hearing.

This time, Ramya told the court that she was currently living with an NGO. Ramya also told the court that her parents were opposing her marriage to Wajid Khan.

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Wajid’s mother Srilakshmi, however, said that she had no objection to the marriage. However, Ramya’s family continues to oppose her marriage.

The High Court said that Ramya is a software engineer and is able to make decisions about his life. The court also ordered her release from the NGO with which Ramya was staying.

Notably, Karnataka is also preparing for the enactment of the Anti-Love Jihad Act. A few days back, Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had said that the government would take strict action to curb the so-called ‘love jihad’.

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