Himachal Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition related to an inter caste marriage, said that "a girl is not a cattle or non-living thing but a living independent soul having rights, like others, and, on attaining the age of discretion, to exercise her discretion according to her wishes."
The Bench led by Justice Vivek Singh Thakur on Tuesday was hearing a petition related to the marriage of an upper-caste girl with a scheduled caste boy.
According to the bench, discrimination on the basis of caste is a violation of constitutional mandate as well as in opposition to real Dharma.
"We are living in a state governed by the Constitution and discrimination on the basis of caste by denying of right to choose spouse, is in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India," Thakur said.
Referring to the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, the Court said that "discrimination on the basis of caste sometimes is propounded on the basis of some Smritis and Puranas, forgetting the basic principle that the highest source of religious norms are Vedas and anything in any other religious texts, including Smritis and Puranas, which is contrary to the principles propounded in Vedas, is to be considered ultra vires to Vedas and thus, contrary to Dharma and, therefore, is to be discarded."
