In Ghaziabad, an Interfaith Couple’s Three-Year Marriage Faces Religious Scrutiny

Akbar Khan (29) and Sonika Chauhan (25), who had been married under the Special Marriage Act since August 2022, are now facing serious legal and social challenges — all seemingly rooted in their different faiths.

The couple had known each other since childhood, attended the same school, and fell in love six years ago. Despite being legally married for three years, on May 24, everything changed. Sonika’s father filed a complaint accusing Akbar of kidnapping and confining his daughter.

Following the complaint, Ghaziabad Police arrested Akbar’s sisters, a sister-in-law, a neighbour, and later Akbar himself. While some of them were released a week later, Akbar and his two sisters remain in judicial custody.

Friends and family insist that the couple was inseparable and their relationship was no secret. However, their interfaith marriage has now been reduced to a matter of religious identity, drawing attention to the continued challenges faced by such couples in India.