Recently, Delhi High Court said that consenting adults have a constitutional right to marry a person of their choice and that neither society, the State, nor parents can interfere in such a decision.

The observation was made while hearing a petition filed by a married couple seeking protection from the woman’s father, who opposed their marriage.

Granting police protection, Justice Saurabh Banerjee held that the right to marry flows from personal liberty and choice, forming an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Court noted that since both petitioners were adults and had willingly chosen to marry each other, no one — including parents, relatives, society, or state authorities — could obstruct or interfere with their decision. Emphasising the sanctity of marriage by choice, the Court said that the decision of consenting adults to enter into matrimony deserves full respect and constitutional protection.

The couple had married in July 2025 according to Hindu rites at an Arya Samaj mandir and subsequently registered their marriage before the concerned sub-divisional magistrate. They alleged that the woman’s father was unhappy with the marriage and had been threatening them.

The Court categorically stated that no individual, including the woman’s father, could be permitted to endanger or threaten the life and liberty of the couple, adding that social approval is not a prerequisite for exercising personal choices guaranteed under the Constitution