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In a precedent-setting decision that affirmed personal freedom, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ordered the government to grant immunity to those couples who get married against the wish of the families and start their marriages, saying that parental or family consent is unnecessary; two adults have made a decision to get married.

In the latest cases that were heard in February 2026, the court noted that interference with the right of a person to select a life partner gets to the very heart of dignity and is in violation of the constitutional covenants on Articles 19 (freedom of expression) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty). In one of the orders he issued on February 9, Justice M.A. Chowdhary said, "Duty would find it very hard to conceive of dignity in its purity of virtue because the right to express oneself, to make a choice, has been impeded.

In yet another judgment of Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi on February 3, the court emphasized: There should be no need to get the consent of the family/community or clan; it should be the consent of two adult individuals, which is to be solemnly given precedence. The bench pointed out that consensual marriages like these are a constitutional expression of choice, and a charge against any form of infringement is a violation of the constitution.

These rulings followed cries of couples who, in most cases, were married according to the Muslim Personal Law and feared being killed or harassed by their kin due to their decision to love and get married at will. The judiciary instructed police to guarantee their safety, security, and right to live without being interfered with.

Such a liberal attitude is in line with the Supreme Court precedents supporting the right to choose a partner as an activity inherent to personhood and autonomy. It conveys an emphasis against honor-based threats and social pressure in inter-caste, interfaith, or love marriages.

Rights activists have received the rulings with great enthusiasm as an empowerment of individual freedoms in the region. Judicial activism on the part of the J&K High Court makes this more so as the courts continue offering shelter to more and more couples who have to prove that getting married is more about a couple agreeing to be together than about the family controlling the union. Love and liberty prevail!