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The Supreme Court has, in a landmark judgment that upholds personal liberty and the sanctity of consensual relationships, granted bail to a man who had been arrested under the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act 2018, after he had entered into an inter-faith marriage. The apex court observed that the marriage was conducted with the consent of both families and that the State cannot stand objection to the couple's decision to live together.
Aman Siddiqui, also known as Aman Chaudhary, also known as Raja, was detained by Uttarakhand police on charges of illegal religious conversion in the case of Aman Siddiqui alias Aman Chaudhary alias Raja v. State of Uttarakhand. The allegations came in the backdrop of his marriage to a woman of a different religion. Several people and organizations contended that the marriage was one in which forced conversion had taken place, which led them to invoke the provisions of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018 (UFRA).
Further, charges were also framed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, namely:
The appellant was first taken into custody and had remained in jail for over six months before the matter reached the Supreme Court.
Justices B.V. Nagarathna and S.C. Sharma bench heard the appellant's bail plea. The Court was notably attentive to the fact that the marriage was:
The State had opposed bail on the grounds that a criminal investigation had been initiated and was under way in respect of the alleged conversion. However, the Court looked at this objection as being unreasonable, especially keeping in mind the fact that the parties were living peacefully together and supported by their families.
Further, the Court ruled that external pressure brought from individuals or organizations after the marriage could not be a valid ground to keep denying the liberty of the appellant. The Court stressed that where consenting adults made free choices in matters of marriage, such rights should be respected, barring any instances involving coercion or illegal inducement.
Before, the Uttarakhand High Court had refused bail to the appellant, noting the existence of serious allegations under anti-conversion laws. However, the Supreme Court disagreed with this approach and set aside the impugned order, highlighting the absence of compelling reasons to keep the appellant in custody any longer.
All these provisions, the Court noted, cannot be interpreted so as to take away freedom of individual choice in personal matters.
The Court's reasoning in Aman Siddiqui v. State of Uttarakhand (2025) signals an important precedent to protect the rights of people in inter-faith relationships, particularly when there is a risk of these rights being improperly misused. This judgment strongly rejected misuse of the law preventing some harassment and ultimately criminalization of decisions made by an individual (or individuals) and family.
This judgment therefore confirms that the individual constitutional guarantees of personal liberty, dignity, and freedom to choose a partner notwithstanding religious differences can prevail over community or political pressures which serve only to undermine an individual's right to select and or maintain a relationship.
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