No mandatory display notices for marriages of interfaith couples: Allahabad HC

In a relief to interfaith couples, the court said the publication of such notices "would invade in the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy".

The display of notices also affect the couple's freedom to choose marriage "without interference from state and non-state actors", the court said.

A section of the Special Marriages Act, 1954, requires an inter-faith couple to give written notice of the marriage to the District Marriage Officer.

The order states that such notices be displayed in the official's office in case anyone wants to object to the marriage within 30 days on the ground that it would contravene the usual rules, including age, mental health and customs of their communities.

In a 47-page judgment on Tuesday, Justice Vivek Chaudhary said couples can now give a written request to the Marriage Officer "to publish or not to publish a notice".

In case the couple makes an appeal to not notify their names publicly,  the Marriage Officer "shall not publish any such notice or entertain objections to the intended marriage and proceed with the solemnization of the marriage," the order read.

The court passed the order following a petition by a Muslim woman who converted to Hinduism to marry a Hindu man.

The petition said her father was not permitting her to live with her husband.