Interfaith marriage: Delhi HC decrees guidelines for changing religion

The Delhi high court on Friday laid down a slew of guidelines to be followed by individuals facilitating religious conversion for interfaith marriages — a decision that aims to provide a detailed understanding the religion that a person is converting to, its associated ramifications, and make the person aware of the potential shifts in legal standing, post conversion.

“Conversion to another religion which is uninformed may not prepare a convert with the consequences that they will now not be able to follow their form of religion in case the religion they are converting to, does not permit so. This becomes more critical in case their reverting back to their religion may ensue legal, matrimonial, succession and custody related consequences,” justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in the order.

The court was dealing with a case of a Muslim man who had sought the quashing of a rape complaint filed against him by a Hindu woman in October 2022. The man was arrested on November 18, 2022, but was granted interim bail five days later on the ground that they had married according to Muslim customs and rights after the woman converted into Islam. The man was granted regular bail by a city court in February 2023 after the woman admitted that she married the man 10 days after the registration of the FIR.

The man and the complainant had thus approached the high court seeking to quash the FIR on the ground that they had settled their disputes and were legally married now.

However, the court refused the quash the FIR. The judge, in a 53-page verdict, asked the people facilitating conversion to inform the individual with exhaustive information concerning the religious doctrines, customs, and practices associated with the chosen faith in a native language to ensure that consent to such conversion is an informed consent.

“Equally important is the exploration of religious repercussions. The individual must be apprised of the religious norms, obligations, and restrictions that come with the conversion,” the judge noted.

The court also directed the concerned people to obtain an affidavit from the parties wishing to convert indicating their age, marital history and marital status, at the time of the interfaith marriage. The court directed that an affidavit must also be obtained to the effect that the conversion is being done voluntarily after understanding the implications and consequences related to marital divorce, succession, custody, and religious rights.

Justice Sharma, while refusing to quash the case, noted that the lady was illiterate and did not know Urdu adding that there was nothing in the Nikahnama that showed that the contents of either the marriage or conversion certificate which were also in Urdu were explained to her.