KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Monday ruled that religion cannot be a barrier to an interfaith marriage between two consenting adults, observing that they are free to marry a person of their choice.
While hearing a petition filed by two adults seeking protection for their interfaith marriage, the court directed the police to provide adequate security on July 29, when their marriage is scheduled to be registered, to ensure that no untoward incident occurs during the ceremony.
The couple has been in a relationship for the past 16 years and has decided to get married. However, they alleged that a third party has been raiding their homes in Uluberia in West Bengal's Howrah district and preventing them from marrying because they belong to different religions.
Fearing for their safety, they moved the bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharyya, seeking directions to ensure that their marriage registration proceeds peacefully on July 29.
Senior advocate Bikashranjan Bhattacharya appeared for the petitioners.
"They are facing resistance from a third party but not from their families. The third party as well as one political party is regularly threatening and preventing them from getting married. The political party workers are also creating pressure on the girl's father asking him to raise objections in connection with their interfaith marriage even after the notice is issued to them for their registry scheduled on 29 July," Bhattacharya argued during the hearing.
Justice Bhattacharyya observed, "As per the Indian Act, no resistance is allowed when the two consenting adults are agreed to marry each other despite their separate religious identities. Therefore, police will have to give adequate security on the day of their marriage."
Rajdeep Majumder, the state's Additional Advocate General, told the court that the police had already taken adequate security measures in connection with the incident in the Uluberia area. Police are keeping a close watch on developments to prevent any untoward incident during the marriage registration of the two consenting adults, he submitted.
According to local sources, the third party has allegedly continued to threaten the families of the couple even after they received the notice from the marriage registration office.
It is also allegedly threatening to shut down the business activities of the woman's family if she goes ahead with the marriage.
The court has directed the police to submit an action-taken report on the matter.