Right to marry of one's choice
Topic: Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
This right means that an adult can choose whom to marry, and family, community or caste groups cannot block that choice. Courts treat it as part of personal liberty and privacy under Article 21. In Shafin Jahan (2018), the Hadiya case, and Shakti Vahini (2018), the Supreme Court held that adults may choose their partners. It also held that interference by khap panchayats (caste councils) is illegal.
Example
In the Hadiya case (2018), the Supreme Court set aside a High Court order that had cancelled an adult woman's marriage. The Court said her choice of partner was her own.
Don't confuse with
- Supriyo Chakraborty case (2023): held that there is no fundamental right to marry as such and left same-sex marriage for Parliament to decide. The right to choose a partner protects a choice within existing marriage laws. It does not create a new right to marry.
Related concepts
- K.S. Puttaswamy case
- Right to privacy
- Right to be forgotten
- Navtej Singh Johar case
- Joseph Shine case
- Supriyo Chakraborty case
- Reproductive autonomy
- Passive euthanasia
- Living will
- Vishaka case