On April 11, 2018, the Supreme Court said that a bride’s consent to marriage forms an inherent part of the Hindu marital law. The court also said it will not interfere with Hindu marriage laws or in how marriage ceremonies are performed.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra said the Hindu Marriage Act inherently held a forceful marriage or a fraudulent one held without the woman’s voluntary consent as invalid.
The bench said that it would treat this petition as a habeas corpus plea and would not deal with the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Act. The court observed that in case of forced or fraudulent consent, Section 12C of the Act provides for annulment of marriage.
The ruling was in response to a petition filed by a woman from Karnataka seeking protection as she did not agree to marry as per her parents’ choice. She alleged that she was being forced to marry without her consent.