HC says anti-conversion law does not limit interfaith live-in relationships
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Allahabad High Court on Monday clarified that the 2021 Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act does not bar interfaith couples from living together.
The court made the observation while hearing multiple petitions from Hindu and Muslim women who sought police protection after saying they were being threatened for being in live-in relationships with partners from another faith.
A bench led by Vivek Kumar Singh indicated that the law does not treat such couples as members of different religious communities but as consenting adults who have chosen to live together over a period of time.
The court underscored that the freedom to live with a partner of one’s choice, regardless of religion, flows from the constitutional guarantees of life and personal liberty, and that any outside interference in such relationships would amount to an intrusion into individual freedom of choice, Scroll.in reported.
The judge also remarked that if the law permits same-sex couples to cohabit peacefully, there is no basis for individuals, families or even the state to object to a heterosexual live-in relationship between two consenting adults.
Granting relief, the court allowed the petitioners to approach the police for protection. It directed authorities to verify the complaints and the ages of those involved, and to take appropriate action to safeguard their life and liberty if the allegations were found to be credible.
The bench further observed that being in an interfaith relationship does not strip individuals of their fundamental rights and that discrimination on the basis of caste or religion is impermissible.
It added that the anti-conversion law would apply only where a religious conversion had actually taken place, and only if such conversion was secured through misrepresentation, force, coercion, undue influence, inducement, fraud, or marriage.