Jabalpur:The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that no “moral policing” can be allowed if two adults are willing to stay together by way of marriage or a live-in relationship.
Justice Nandita Dubey made the observation on January 28 while disposing of a habeas corpus petition filed by Jabalpur resident Guljar Khan, who stated that he had married Arti Sahu (19) in Maharashtra and she had willingly converted to Islam.
Khan had alleged in his plea that Sahu was forcibly taken away by her parents to Varanasi and illegally detained. Sahu was produced before the court on January 28 through video-conferencing from the Advocate General’s office. The HC noted that the state has raised an objection in view of provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.
It is vehemently argued (by the government's counsel) that any marriage performed in contravention of Section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 2021 shall be deemed null and void where no person shall convert for the purpose of marriage and any conversion in contravention, the court further noted.
The HC in its order said, "No moral policing can be allowed in such matters where the two major persons are willing to stay together whether by way of marriage or in a live-in relationship when the party to that arrangement is doing it willingly not forced into it."