Supreme Court : Women not required to change their religion after marriage

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday held that there is no Indian Law stating that a woman has to essentially change her religion to her husband's religion after their marriage. The bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra also comprising of Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, was dealing with the issue of the religious identity of a wife in an inter-religion marriage. The present appeal was filed by Goolrokh Gupta, a Parsi woman who has challenged the validity of the common law doctrine. She was married to a Hindu man under the Special Marriage Act and wanted to retain her identity under Parsi religion. She made an appeal to the High Court of Gujrat in 2012, however, the same was rejected. She contended in the High Court that even after her marriage, she continued to practice the Zoroastrian Parsi religion and should be permitted to enjoy the privileges offered under that religion. She also argued that if a Parsi male is allowed to retain his religious identity after the marriage then the same should also be applied to the wife. Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the woman asked the court that how could India follow the common law doctrine, when it is not followed by the country of origin. He further added that even if such a merger of religions has a common law sanction yet it has to undergo the test of constitutionality. The common law requires the wife to change her religion to that of her husband's in an inter-religion marriage. The Supreme Court stated that although Indians follow the customary ritual of conversion of a woman's religion into her husband's on their marriage, there is no specific legislation declaring the same. Even the Special Marriage Act, permits a man and a woman of different religions to get married and retain their respective religious identity after the marriage. The bench has asked senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam representing & lsquo Valsad Parsi Trust' to inform it whether the woman could be allowed to visit the & lsquo Tower of Silence' to perform the last rites of her father. The common law practice of the merger of religion is not in conformity with the Indian Laws. The Constitution of India guarantees to every individual the Fundamental Right to profess and practice any religion of their choice. It is also against the principle of equality, as the doctrine of merger is only applicable to women and no such restrictions apply to husbands. Hence, preventing a woman from practicing her religion merely on the ground of marriage to a man of a different faith, is not just arbitrary but is also violative of the Fundamental Rights to Equality and Religion as enshrined in the Constitution.