Overview

• Aman Siddiqui was arrested on December 12 under the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act and charged with alleged concealment of religion and fraudulent conversion under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
• The Uttarakhand High Court denied his bail plea on February 28, resulting in nearly six months of pretrial detention.
• On May 19, a Supreme Court bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma granted Siddiqui bail and directed his immediate release.
• The court ruled that the state cannot object to the couple residing together since both are consenting adults married with full knowledge and consent of their families.
• The decision underscores judicial support for interfaith marriages and highlights tensions between anti-conversion laws and constitutional personal freedoms.