Priyanshi Bhardwaj, O.P. Jindal Global University
Introduction
Hon’ble Supreme Court in Shakhti Vahini v. Union of India1 had started the judgement by quoting Simone Weil, “Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense consists in the ability to choose.” The aim here had been to highlight that who to marry was a matter of choice, and Panchayat’s interventions in preventing two consenting adults from marrying was ‘illegal’2.
Through the decades post-independence, laws about marriage, both personal and statutory, evolved into becoming as overarching as was possible when it came to rights. They were in a constant state of revision and re-revision, taking a more humane approach of justice, equity and good conscience with every new case that came through. The question of ‘right to choose one’s partner’ has been put forth and upheld in cases such as, inter alia, Lata Singh v. State of UP and Anr3, Asha Ranjan v. State of Bihar4.
