“You too will marry a boy I choose,” are the famous opening lines of Vikram Seth’s classic A Suitable Boy where Mrs Rupa Mehra is underscoring the importance of a family-approved match to her daughter Lata who responds with the most non-committal “Hmm”. For most people in India, marriages are not made in heaven, but much in Mrs Mehra’s vein, are the result of family negotiations and balancing of family proprieties and priorities.
In this context, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 was radical since it gave precedence to individual interests over community interests by specifically permitting inter-faith marriages. It also allowed couples within the same faith to opt into progressive, secular marriage law.
However, many of the Special Marriage Act’s provisions remained imperfect. The Allahabad’s High Court’s January 13 decision, however, brings the story of the Special Marriage Act full circle by making the individual the true repository of rights.