Explanation:

The Supreme Court recently held that a person’s right to choose a religion and marry is an intrinsic part of her meaningful existence. Neither the State nor “patriarchal supremacy” can interfere in her decision. The observations are part of the 61-page reasoned judgment published by the Supreme Court in the case of Hadiya, a 26- year-old Homeopathy student who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man. The case first gained attention as a case of forced conversion. Matters of belief and faith, including whether to believe, are at the core of constitutional liberty. The Constitution exists for believers as well as for agnostics.

Freedom of faith is essential to one’s autonomy; Choosing a faith is the substratum of individuality and sans it, the right of choice becomes a shadow. Constitution protects the ability of each individual to pursue a way of life or faith to which she or he seeks to adhere. Matters of dress and of food, of ideas and ideologies, of love and partnership are within the central aspects of identity. Society has no role to play in determining choice of partners. The Constitution guarantees to each individual the right freely to practise, profess and propagate religion. Choices of faith and belief as indeed choices in matters of marriage lie within an area where individual autonomy is supreme