Court dismisses petition against intercaste marriage

Court dismisses petition against intercaste marriage

Anand.Bodh @timesgroup.com

Shimla:23.02.2021 

A girl is not cattle or a non-living thing but a living, independent soul having rights to exercise her discretion according to her wishes on attaining the age of discretion, said Himachal Pradesh high court as it disposed of a petition related to the marriage of an upper caste woman with a Scheduled Caste man.

The high court said that unlike ancient Western belief wherein a female was supposed to be created by God from the rib of a man for the enjoyment of man, in India, a female has always been considered not only equal but at a higher pedestal than the male since the Vedic era, except for evils of the medieval period, which must be eradicated in the present era.

Justice Vivek Singh Thakur said the woman was at liberty to go and reside wherever she wants and the opposition to marriage between a couple from different castes is the result of spiritual as well as religious ignorance leading to behaviour in violation of constitutional mandate.

The Constitution, said the judge, is an embodiment of ancient values of ‘Bhartiya society’. Independence of thought of an individual is a fundamental feature of the Indian culture. “We are living in a state governed by the Constitution and discrimination on the basis of caste by denying of right to choose a spouse is in violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India,” he added.

Suppressing or oppressing freedom of an individual, which is contrary not only to his/her spiritual and religious rights but also constitutional rights, is to be deprecated. Balance is to be maintained between individual, family, and societal interests, and that should be in consonance with the constitutional mandate, according to the judgment.

Blaming the evils of the medieval period for wrong perceptions that have clouded the rich values and principles of Indian culture and civilization, the judgment said that right to marry, or not to marry, as well as the right to choose a spouse is a well-recognized right in Indian society since ancient era. Inter-caste marriages were also permissible in ancient Indian society.

‘No one is to be discriminated on account of sex, caste, creed, race, colour, or financial status,’ the Himachal Pradesh high court judge said