NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Kerala government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), asking for a report in an alleged case of love jihad where a Muslim man got married to a Hindu woman, which was annulled by the Kerala High Court.
Terming the case of love jihad a serious and sensitive one, a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud also sought production of all documents related to the case within a week.
The NIA was roped in since it has conducted investigations into some cases of love jihad, wherein some women were allegedly being sent out to Syria to join terror outfit ISIS. The court has scheduled the hearing for August 16.
Shafin Jahan, the husband of Hadiya, had moved the Supreme Court last month after the Kerala High Court order, saying it was an insult to the independence of women in India. Both had married in December last year after she converted to Islam. Both met through a matrimonial website. In May, their marriage was declared null and void by the high court, which described it as a case of love jihad.
During the hearing on Friday, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising appeared on behalf of Jahan and asked, “How the liberty of an adult woman could be curtailed in such a manner as she has been kept in custody of her parents.” Sibal also sought the production of the girl before the bench to decide whether she was in a fit state of mind to exercise her choices.
On the other hand, advocate Madhvi Divan, who represented the girl’s father, contended there was much more than what meets the eye in this case since the real protagonists are the extremist organisations, which are working behind the scene to influence innocent women and convert them forcibly.