Wife’s religion does not merge with husband’s after marriage: SC

The Supreme Court has held that a woman's religion does not merge with that of her husband's after marriage. The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra observed that it was arbitrary that a Parsi man marrying outside the community was not barred from entering the Tower of Silence, but a woman was.

The court also requested the Valsad Zoroastrian Trust to allow a Parsi woman to enter the Tower of Silence to perform the last rites of her parents. Goolrokh Gupta was barred from entering the Tower of Silence by the trust as she had married a Hindu.

The Bench said that marriage does not mean that a woman mortgages herself to her husband. We do not accept the merger principle which was propounded by the Bombay High Court. The Bombay HC had upheld the restraining of the lady from performing the last rites of her parents.

There is no law which bars a woman from entering the Tower of Silence after marrying outside the community, the Bench also said. Shun the rigidity and understand the importance of filial emotions of a child towards her parents, the Bench also observed.

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