Smt Nikita @ Najrana And Another   [ Petitioner]   Vs. State Of Up And Others   [Respondent]

WRIT – C No. – 1348 of 2024

(Hon’ble Kshitij Shailendra,J.)

Facts: By means of present writ petition, the Petitioners have prayed for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents 2 and 3 to provide adequate security to petitioners and further restraining the respondents from causing any interference in peaceful living of petitioners as husband and wife.

Issue: Whether the present petition is maintainable in this court?

Arguments on behalf of counsel for petitioner:

Learned Standing Counsel points out that petitioner No.1 earlier belonged to Muslim religion and the petitioner No.2 belongs to Hindu religion and in view of the provisions of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, unless compliance of the provisions of Sections 8 and 9 is made by the parties belonging to different religions, no sanctity/validity can be attached to such marriage. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that a conversion certificate was issued in the year 2017 whereas the aforesaid Act has come into existence in 2021 and, therefore, the provisions of Section 8 and 9 of the Act, 2021, would not be applicable.

Held: The court disposed off the present petition and held that, “In the present case, as per the writ petition itself, the alleged marriage between the petitioners has been performed on 2.1.2024 by which date the aforesaid Act of 2021 had come into existence. Therefore, before the date of marriage, the petitioners should have complied with the provisions of the Act, in case, they wanted to attach sanctity/legality to the conversion, which is now controlled and governed by the enactment passed by UP Legislature. The scheme of the Act envisages that if conversion is done in relation to marriage of the persons belonging to different religions, irrespective of any past event, which might or might not attach sanctity to conversion, in case a marriage is solemnized after the Act of 2021 has come into force, i.e., after 27.11.2020 as per Section 1 (3) of the Act, the parties have to ensure compliance of Sections 8 and 9 of the Act and, in such event, conversion, if any, done in the past, may be a relevant fact during the course of inquiry conducted by the District Magistrate as per Sections 8 and 9 of the Act subject to satisfaction of the District Magistrate but it, in itself, cannot be a substantive proof of a valid conversion so as to attach sanctity to a marriage performed after the Act, 2021 has come into force. Therefore, the concerned party to a proposed inter-faith/inter-religion marriage has to comply with the provisions of the Act. Hence, the submission of learned counsel for the petitioners that since Act has come into force in 2020-21, but conversion was done in 2017 at Arya Samaj Mandir and, therefore, no fresh conversion is required, is not acceptable and is hereby discarded.”