The Allahabad High Court has ruled that Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law cannot be used to prevent interfaith marriages or to criminalise live-in relationships between consenting adults of different religions.
In an order issued on 23 February, the court directed state police to provide protection to 12 interfaith couples who said they were facing threats from relatives and others for living together.
The couples, from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds, had approached the court after police allegedly declined to offer security. Officers reportedly cited the couples’ failure to provide documentation relating to religious conversion under the state’s anti-conversion law, which was introduced in 2021.
The court stated that it viewed the petitioners not through the lens of religion, but as adults who had chosen of their own free will to live together peacefully. It affirmed that the right to live with a person of one’s choice, regardless of faith, is part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
The judges said that interference in such personal relationships would amount to a serious intrusion into individual freedom.
Lawyers representing the state government argued that relationships between people of different religions must comply with procedures laid out in the anti-conversion law, particularly where marriage is involved. They also contended that the couples had neither registered their unions under personal marriage laws nor under the Special Marriage Act, which applies to civil marriages.
The state further argued that religious conversion would be required not only for marriage but also for relationships “in the nature of marriage”, including live-in arrangements.
However, counsel for the couples maintained that the Constitution allows adults to choose their partners freely, and that the anti-conversion law did not apply because none of the couples had converted or intended to do so.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh agreed with the petitioners. The court ruled that consenting adults have the right to marry or to enter into a live-in relationship, and that such arrangements do not constitute a criminal offence. The judge instructed the couples to seek police assistance and ordered authorities to ensure their safety.
Christian and Muslim leaders in the state welcomed the decision. Pastor Joy Mathew, who assists Christians facing legal challenges, said the ruling reaffirmed constitutional protections and called on police to distinguish between criminal conduct and lawful interfaith relationships.
Muhammad Arif, chairman of the Centre for Harmony and Peace, described the judgment as a strong reminder of India’s secular principles and said it could help prevent misuse of the law.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with more than 200 million residents, is one of 12 states that have enacted anti-conversion legislation aimed at preventing religious conversion through coercion or fraud, including for marriage. Christians make up less than one per cent of the state’s population, while Muslims account for about 19 per cent and Hindus around 80 per cent.
Church leaders said the ruling offers reassurance to interfaith couples and highlights the importance of upholding constitutional freedoms and the rule of law.
Rewritten version of the original article from UCA News.
