NIA to probe Kerala ‘love jihad’ marriage

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the NIA to conduct a probe into the alleged “love jihad” marriage in Kerala after the central agency said it was not an isolated case but had similarities with another where allegations about a well-oiled mechanism to convert women from Hinduism to Islam were made.

A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar said retired SC judge justice RV Raveendran will monitor the probe to ensure the inquiry is fair. The bench’s order came on a petition filed by Keralabased Shafin Jahan, a Muslim man whose marriage with a Hindu woman was annulled by the Kerala high court describing it as a case of “love jihad”. Love jihad is a term certain Hindu groups use to allege an Islamist strategy of converting Hindu women through seduction, marriage, money or threat.

While annulling their marriage a division bench of the high court also made serious observations that a high-level probe was needed to find out whether there was an organised syndicate behind “love jihad” and their suspected role in recruiting youth for the ISIS. Jahan wants the HC order to be set aside.

The top court refused to consider Jahan’s lawyer Kapil Sibal’s request to interview the woman. The senior advocate said the woman was a doctor and a major who could not be kept under lock and key. “Have you heard about the Blue Whale challenge? Such things can drive people to do anything. We want inputs from all sides before we take a final decision,” Chief Justice Khehar told Sibal.

The bench also assured him that it would speak with the woman before passing any final orders. Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh told the court that the case was not an isolated case and the bench agreed with him, saying the HC order also mentioned it. “We have arrived at some observations based on court’s order,” Singh said. Singh gave reference to another case and said the organisation that took the woman’s custody in the present case was also involved in the earlier one.

“In both, the organisation was involved in getting the women married. The organisation perhaps has some links with SIMI (banned Students Islamic Movement of India),” Singh said.

“The entities also appear to be common. The pattern appears that girls leave homes due to differences of opinion with family and somebody volunteers to give them shelter and this requires investigation,” he informed the bench, which also wondered how a homoeopath doctor gave three different names.

The top court on August 11 ordered Kerala police to hand over the case papers to the National Investigating Agency, which was asked to give its inputs in the case.

“There are some very serious remarks made by the HC,” the court remarked.

Sibal initially objected to NIA probe and raised apprehension over its credibility as an inde- pendent agency. “I can file an affidavit pointing to so many U-turns it has taken in several cases,” Sibal contended.

To this, the CJI said: “If we order some other agency (to conduct the probe) there would be some opposition.” He then suggested the probe be supervised by a retired Supreme Court judge.

The senior counsel later agreed and the court said it will hear the matter after NIA completes its probe. Jahan, who had married the woman in December last year, moved the top court after the HC scrapped his marriage saying that it was an insult to the independence of women in the country.