Abstract
This article examines the constitutional recognition of the right to marry under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, alongside the legal challenges arising from statutory marriageable age. Article 21, though textually brief, has evolved into a reservoir of rights, including privacy, dignity, and marital choice. Through landmark judgments such as Lata Singh, Shakti Vahini, and Shafin Jahan, the Supreme Court affirmed the autonomy of individuals to marry by choice. However, conflicts emerge where one partner is under the statutory marriageable age. Analysing recent High Court rulings, the article highlights the judiciary’s emphasis on prioritising life and liberty over societal or statutory constraints.
INTRODUCTION
Fundamental rights make the constitution truly functional and transform lives in substantive terms. These rights give life to the ideals enshrined in the Preamble. By ensuring justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, these rights turn the Preamble’s aspirations from abstract principles into enforceable realities.
Article 21 is one of the most important fundamental rights. It forms part of the Right to Freedom from Articles 19 to 22. Textually, this article is the shortest fundamental right but today it has covered almost every aspect of an individual’s life, contextually. It reads as:
Article 21: No person shall be deprived his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law.
However, when cases with different legal issues get submitted to the counters of the Courts, it becomes duty of the Courts to apply law carefully. In due course of time many challenges relating to existing marriage system has increased. With the evolution of society, issues relating to validity of marriage, live in relations, same sex marriages, etc. have been resolved through the judicial advancement.
Whenever, two people marry against the social norms it becomes duty of the State to protect their rights. Freedom has no meaning until and unless it is not practiced through affirmative actions of the states. We have been hearing of ‘honour killings’, ‘khaap panchayats and different other institutions which normalise killing of young couples in the name of religion, societal order and morality. But the question arises when marital status, age, laws, validity etc. pose challenges to the fundamental freedoms of the individuals which form part of their basic human rights.
This is when the judiciary comes into action. Judiciary has not only played vital role in widening the scope of Article 21 but has also resolved difficult legal issues that come up in different cases at various levels. Let us look at one such issue when marriageable age comes into conflict with fundamental right to marry recently recognised by Hon’ble Supreme Court.