Chennai: The Madras High Court has held that not only conversion but also effort to proselytize a spouse to the religion of another without their consent is nothing, but absolute violence and grounds of cruelty for grounds of divorce.
A bench comprising N Seshasayee (now retired) and Justice L Victoria Gowri held this while hearing an appeal filed by a Muslim man challenging a family court order dissolving his marriage with his estranged Hindu wife on the grounds of cruelty.
Forcible conversion means violence: High Court
“A matrimony, which commenced with love and affection when it struggles to proceed with twists and turns by the beloved husband’s attitude of compelling the Hindu wife to convert to Islam by renaming her as Salima from Devi and further compelling her to completely abandon her beliefs which she has been following from birth by heart, thereby, putting her on crossroads for the purpose of proselytization, would amount to abject cruelty,” the High Court said.
“Forcible conversion means violence. The emotional abuse to which the respondent was subjected to by the appellant for converting herself to Islam from Hinduism would cause untold misery and psychological imbalance on the mind and soul of the respondent, which could never be expressed in normal words by any victim of conversion,” the High Court added.
What did the wife allege?
The wife moved the family court alleging that she is a Hindu and her estranged husband a Muslim and they chose to marry under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and that after their marriage, her husband had forced her to convert to Islam.
The High Court, while dismissing the appeal of the estranged husband and taking note of the harassments meted out to her by her husband in the name of religion compelling her to convert to Islam, said when a husband or wife in a matrimonial life is subjected to consistent and persistent cruelty compelling them to convert into the other one’s religion to which one of the spouses belong to, such a circumstance would certainly amount to curtailment of life and liberty ensured by Article 21 of the Constitution of India and denial of right to freely profess and practice one’s religion and compelling him or her to convert to the religion of the other, would deprive the victim of his/her life and personal liberty.
Marriage system is treated as sacred and the same has to be preserved: High Court
“Right to life under Articles 21, 39(e), 39(f), 41 and 42 are meant to ensure a life with human dignity. When a man/woman is denied with a personal right to profess and practice their own religion, upholding their respective freedom of conscience and beliefs, the same would miserably affect the quality of life, resulting in a lifeless life without dignity. In this case, when the respondent wife refused to convert herself to Islam, the appellant had continuously indulged in abusing the Hindu gods and inflicted both emotional and physical abuse on the respondent, compelling her to convert to Islam in his heinous effort to proselytize her,” the High Court said.
“In a country like India, religion is the essence of life and religion is the connect between a man and almighty. The faith, which fountains from the mind and soul is the basic strength on which a man or woman usually dwell in life. The institution of marriage under every personal law is a holy unison of two souls. Marriage system is treated as sacred and the same has to be preserved. But in the name of God, in the name of religion, when a woman in a marriage or a man in a marriage is compelled to convert herself/himself to the religion of other for the sake of securing the matrimony would amount to shattering the foundation of the matrimony itself,” the bench added.
Conduct inflicted by husband on wife had caused grave mental pain and suffering to wife: High Court
The High Court further said that the conduct inflicted by the appellant husband on the respondent wife had caused grave mental pain and suffering to the respondent wife compelling her to convert to Islam shattering her belief system and damaging her conscience, which in due course of time had evolved into a challenge to her life and personal liberty to live up to her conscience and belief system.
“Hence, we are of the considered opinion that this is a fit case for grant of divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion as well, categorically holding that not only conversion, but also effort to proselytize a spouse to the religion of another without their consent is nothing, but absolute violence,” the High Court said and dismissed the appeal filed by the estranged husband.
