The Allahabad High Court has said that it does not view an interfaith couple as Hindu or Muslim, but as two consenting adults who have chosen to live together peacefully.

The Court emphasised that the Constitution protects such live-in relationships.

The bench headed by Justice Vivek Kumar Singh made this observation while hearing a petition filed by an interfaith couple who feared for their safety and claimed that the police had not responded to their concerns. They approached the Court seeking protection of their life and liberty.

In its order dated March 18, the Court noted that the government’s counsel confirmed that no FIR had been registered regarding the couple living together. While disposing of the petition, the judge stated that the Court sees the petitioners simply as two adults exercising their free will to live together happily.

The Court held that the right to live with a person of one’s choice, irrespective of religion, forms an essential part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. It added that any interference in such personal relationships amounts to a serious violation of an individual’s freedom of choice and dignity.

The Court further clarified that if the law allows even same-sex couples to live together, then no individual, family, or the State can object to a heterosexual interfaith relationship between two consenting adults. It stressed that choosing a partner and living together remains a personal decision protected under fundamental rights.

The Court also reiterated that the State has a duty to protect the life and liberty of every citizen, regardless of their religious beliefs. It made it clear that an interfaith relationship does not take away an individual’s fundamental rights.

At the same time, the High Court has taken varying positions in other cases involving live-in relationships of married individuals. In one case, Justice Vivek Kumar Singh ruled that a married person cannot enter into a live-in relationship with another person without first obtaining a divorce, stating that one person’s freedom cannot override a spouse’s legal rights.

In contrast, in another case, a division bench comprising Justice J. J. Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena held that a consensual live-in relationship between a married man and an adult woman does not amount to a criminal offence, adding that courts do not base their decisions on social morality