Shafin Jahan v Asokan K.M.

Facts

• Akhila Ashokan, an adult woman who had converted to Islam and adopted the name Hadiya, married Shafin Jahan. Her father filed a habeas corpus petition alleging she had been indoctrinated and coerced into the marriage. The Kerala High Court, exercising habeas corpus jurisdiction, annulled the marriage and placed Hadiya under her father's custody. Shafin Jahan appealed to the Supreme Court against the annulment.

Issue

1. Whether a habeas corpus court can annul the marriage of a consenting adult on the ground that her family disapproves, and whether an adult's right to choose a spouse is protected as a facet of personal liberty.

Held

• The right to marry a person of one's choice is integral to Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) and is not subject to override by parental or societal disapproval, once the individual is a consenting adult. A habeas corpus proceeding is meant to test the legality of detention, not to adjudicate the validity of a marriage or to enforce a parent's preferences over an adult child's choices. The Kerala High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction in annulling the marriage in habeas corpus proceedings; the marriage was restored. The NIA probe into broader conspiracy allegations was permitted to continue, but Hadiya's personal liberty and marital choice were upheld independent of that probe.

Ratio Decidendi

An adult's choice of marital partner is a constitutionally protected facet of personal liberty under Article 21. Courts exercising habeas corpus jurisdiction cannot use that jurisdiction to dissolve a marriage or override the choice of a consenting adult based on family objection; such matters, if genuinely disputed, must be tested through appropriate matrimonial or criminal proceedings, not habeas corpus.