Ghaziabad ‘love jihad’ case: Family can’t decide who an adult chooses as life partner, says HC

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday allowed a 26-year-old Hindu woman to live with her Muslim husband, saying that the choice of an adult to live with her partner cannot be controlled by her parents or other family members.

Akbar Khan had approached the court with a habeas corpus petition in September 2025, after his wife, Sonika Chauhan, was taken to her parents following a complaint filed by her father in May that year. The complaint had alleged that Khan had abducted Sonika Chauhan and wrongfully confined her. The Ghaziabad Police had arrested Khan shortly after and returned Sonika Chauhan to her parents.

Khan was arrested again a few weeks later after Sonika Chauhan returned to their matrimonial home. The Ghaziabad Police later also invoked 1970 Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act against him and ordered him to leave the district for six months.

During the hearing of the habeas corpus petition, Sonika Chauhan had submitted before the court that her father, Lakshman Singh Chauhan, had subjected her to pressure and threats over her decision to marry Khan.

Sonika Chauhan had told the court that she had voluntarily married Khan in 2022 under the Special Marriage Act and wanted to live with him.

Laxman Singh Chauhan, however, told the court that...

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