Allahabad High Court upholds adult women's right to choose religion, marriage

The Allahabad High Court ruled that adult women have the fundamental right to choose their religion, marry a person of their choice, decide where to live and make decisions about their future. The observation was made while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by two sisters, Anshu Bhatia (now Amina Anshu Bhatia, 35) and Divya Bhatia (now Zoya Diya Bhatia, 20), who voluntarily converted from Hinduism to Islam and sought to marry Muslim men.

The sisters alleged that their father had illegally confined them and lodged a false FIR under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Justice Sandeep Jain ordered the Uttar Pradesh police and the father to produce the sisters before the court on August 6, emphasizing that any interference would constitute an unwarranted encroachment on their constitutionally protected rights to dignity, liberty, privacy and personal autonomy.