Bombay HC petition challenging the formation of an ‘inter-faith marriage family coordination committee’ into a PIL

The assumption that an adult woman who chose and consented to marry someone from another faith needs to be ‘saved’ is misplaced and goes against the spirit of the Constitution, SP MLA’s petition states

File photo of the Bombay High Court. A Division Bench on March 20 was hearing a plea filed by the SP MLA Rais Shaikh, challenging the Government Resolution that established the committee, calling it illegal and urged the court to quash it. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Bombay High Court on March 20 directed a Samajwadi Party leader to convert his petition into a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the constitution of an inter-faith marriage family coordination committee, terming it to be discriminatory against a particular religion.

A Division Bench of Justices G.S. Patel and Neela Gokhale was hearing a plea filed by the SP MLA Rais Shaikh, challenging the Government Resolution (GR) dated December 13, 2022, that established the committee, calling it illegal and urging the court to quash it.

“Prima facie, this petition is in the nature of PIL. Other than the name and address of the petitioner, there is no statement of fact about the petitioner. The petitioner is not concerned with the subject matter. He may have public interest but then, it’s open to him to take it up in an appropriate manner,” the court said.

“How is it that, even before we have seen this petition, every media person has seen it? If you want to test this in the media forum, then don’t waste our time. Every media forum has seen this. If you want them to decide, we couldn’t care less,” Justice Patel said.

The petition filed by advocate Aditi Rungta mentions the murder of Shraddha Walkar in Delhi, after which the State of Maharashtra formed the committee to coordinate and track inter-faith and inter-caste marriages.

“The committee sought to provide a platform to counsel, communicate and resolve issues between such married couples and their families. The said intervention by the committee can be made on the recommendation of any person and interference can be made at the behest of any person which would result in unaccountability and arbitrariness,” the plea adds.

The petition states, “The GR is in direct contravention and violative of Article 15 (forbidding discrimination), Article 21 (right to life which includes right to privacy) and Article 25 (right to freedom and religion) of the Constitution of India. The GR seeks to create a false narrative and/or influence negatively the public perception of a particular religious sect. The assumption that an adult woman who chose and consented to marry someone from another faith needs to be ‘saved’ is misplaced and goes against the spirit of the Constitution.”