Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Monday said there should be no interference from anyone if two adults decide to get married, NDTV reported. The Supreme Court’s bench said it is mulling over setting up a high-level police committee to come up with ways to ensure that couples in inter-faith or intercaste relationships, or any other alliances that are opposed, are protected.

“Whether it is parents, society or anyone, they are out of it [the marriage],” Misra said. “No one, either individual or collective, or group, has the right to interfere with the marriage.”

The top court was hearing a petition by non-profit Shakti Vahini which had demanded a ban on khap panchayats, self-appointed village councils. The bench condemned khap panchayats for inciting violence and demanded that the Centre do more to curb honour killings. The lawyer representing the khap panchayats said the village bodies were against such killings.

The committee will be assigned the task of keeping couples safe from any violence ordered by khaps, panchayats, parents and relatives, the bench said. The court dismissed the khaps and demanded that they refrain from becoming “self-appointed conscience keepers” when there is a judicial system in place to deal with alliances that may be prohibited by law.

On January 16, the Supreme Court had deemed any attack on adult men and women who decide to marry outside their caste as “absolutely illegal”, Bar & Bench reported.