Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has set at liberty a 31-year-old man allegedly confined by his own father for converting to Islam and seeking to marry a Muslim woman, holding that an adult's constitutionally protected choice of faith and life partner cannot be displaced merely because it is unacceptable to his family.
Justice Sandeep Jain was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the corpus, Ayush Malik, through a friend, alleging that he had voluntarily renounced Hinduism and embraced Islam and thereafter solemnized marriage with Chandni Qureshi against the wishes of his father, Devraj Singh Malik, arrayed as the fourth respondent. It was alleged that, aggrieved by this, the father had lodged an FIR dated 06.06.2026 under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the corpus's wife and her relatives, and that the corpus was thereafter being illegally detained by the father with the alleged connivance of the State machinery.
On a prima facie view of the documents annexed to the petition, the court found the allegations of illegal detention and State complicity serious enough to warrant immediate consideration, issued notice to the father, and directed the State authorities and the father to produce the corpus before the court.
Pursuant to that order, the corpus was produced in court and personally interacted with by the judge. He stated that he was educated up to B.Pharma, had voluntarily embraced Islam in 2014 of his own free will, and had since been following the practices of his adopted faith, though this was unacceptable to his family. He stated that he wished to marry Chandni Qureshi, that this had led to the FIR being registered against her and her relatives, and that he had since been kept under house arrest from 04.06.2026 and subjected to threats. He categorically asserted before the court that his decisions on both faith and marriage were made independently, without coercion or undue influence.
The father, also interacted with by the court, disputed his son's account, contending that the corpus had been influenced or brainwashed by others and had not voluntarily embraced Islam, and that his objection stemmed from concern for his son's welfare.
The court held that, having attained majority, the corpus was capable of taking decisions concerning his own life, and found nothing on record to disbelieve his categorical statement of voluntariness. Invoking the freedom of conscience under Article 25 and the right to choose a life partner as an integral facet of personal liberty under Article 21, the court observed that "the choice of an adult as to whom he or she wishes to marry or with whom he or she wishes to establish a relationship is a matter of individual autonomy [and] the mere fact that such choice may be contrary to the wishes or expectations of the family cannot, by itself, furnish a legitimate basis for curtailing such choice."
The court also noted that Chandni Qureshi and her father, arrested in connection with the FIR, had already been granted bail by the Sessions Judge, Shamli, and held that the father's concern for his son's welfare, though understandable, could not override the constitutionally protected autonomy of an adult competent to decide his faith, residence and choice of life partner.
The court accordingly found no lawful justification for continuing any restraint on the corpus's personal liberty, set him at liberty to reside wherever and with whomever he chose, and to profess the religion of his choice and take a decision on his matrimonial relationship in accordance with law, disposing of the petition with these observations and directions.
Appearances:
For the Petitioners: Deepak Singh, Mohammad Khalid and Umar Khalid, Advocates.
For the Respondents: Government Advocate; Vibhu Rai, Advocate, for Respondent No.4.
Case Title: Ayush Malik and Another vs. State of U.P. and 3 Others, Habeas Corpus Writ Petition No.1307 of 2026
!["No Loudspeakers For Azan, No Fundamental Right To Create Noise," Says Allahabad HC To Two Mosques [Read Judgment]](/secure/uploads/2020/01/lj_4995_Allahabad_HC_AZAN.jpg)
