Consenting Adults Have Right To Marry, Parents Can't Interfere: Delhi Court

Consenting adults have the constitutional right to marry each other, and neither the society nor the state machinery or their parents can interfere in their decision, the Delhi High Court has held.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by a couple seeking protection from the woman's father, who did not approve of her choice.

Extending police protection to the couple, Justice Saurabh Banerjee said the right to marry is an incident of human liberty and choice, which is an integral facet of Article 21 of the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Since the petitioners herein are both major and are well within their rights to marry each other, and who being consenting adults, have willingly chosen to hold their hands and walk through their entire journey of life by entering into the sacred thread of marriage, no one, much less the society, the state machinery or even their parents or relatives or friends can cause interference to the decision of the petitioners in any manner whatsoever from now on," the court said in the order passed on February 2.

"In fact, sanctity has to be given to their decision of entering into marriage, especially since the petitioners are consenting adults who incontrovertibly have the constitutional right to choose their respective life partners," it added.

The couple married in July 2025 in accordance with Hindu rites and ceremonies at an Arya Samaj mandir and then registered the same before the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) concerned.

The couple had alleged that the woman's father was unhappy with the marriage and was threatening them.

The court said no person, much less like the father of the woman, could be allowed to threaten the life and liberty of the petitioners, who did not require any social approval for their personal decisions and choices.

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