After enacting laws to prevent instances of ‘love jihad’ in the state, the Gujarat Government would study the viability of a legislation to make parents’ consent mandatory for all love marriages.
This was revealed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at a Patidar community event in Mehsana.
Incidentally, the idea of making parents’ consent mandatory for love marriages came a day before the three-day G20 Ministerial Conference on Women Empowerment began here on Tuesday.
Fully aware that such a law to make adults conform to their parents’ wishes may not be allowed by the Constitution, the Chief Minister also added the legislation would be brought in only after checking its constitutional viability.
He said that there is a suggestion for study on incidents of elopements and a system should be put in place that parents’ consent is made mandatory for such love marriages.
Succumbing to demands of the Sangh Parivar constituents against what they call ‘love jihad’, the Gujarat Government had in 2021 amended its earlier Freedom of Religion Act to make religious conversion through marriage a punishable offence inviting a prison term of ten years.
This law has been challenged in the Supreme Court for its final implementation.