It may well be that Hadiya (Akhila) is not approaching the apex court just for publicity but is genuinely seeking justice.
Nevertheless, it is astonishing that in this day and age when Elon Musk is planning inter-planetary travel, in India, a young adult female has to approach a court of law to validate her choice of spouse and espousal of a religious faith. What an anachronism!
In any civilised society, it is a given that one can profess whatever faith (or no faith, if need be) and choose a groom of her own. It's sad that the women in this country are trapped in a patriarchal time-warp.
It should not happen in a democracy that the executive and the legislature, which comprise the bulk of the administrative apparatus in this country, are so challenged that it cannot ensure the rights of the common people and for every issue, the citizen has to rush to the courts for direction.
However, the Supreme Court should give a firm ruling that such an affidavit is not necessary and that it is a right of every adult in this free country to choose her husband and her religion. There should be no need for a court of law to intervene or validate such decisions which are essentially in the ambit of personal rights.
This will also serve as a pointer to all litigants who rush to the apex court when the courts are already grappling with a huge backlog of cases.
S. Murganandtham,
Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu