Rajasthan’s ‘Hadiya’ free to return to husband: HC
Probe into Payal Singhvi’s conversion and marriage to Faiez Modi will go on
JODHPUR: The Rajasthan High Court Tuesday released 22-yearold Aarifa from a government home where it had sent her on November 1 while hearing the case of alleged forced conversion.
The court will hear the issue of whether the woman’s conversion and subsequent marriage was legal or not, on Wednesday.
The high court is hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Chirag Singhvi, the woman’s brother, who has alleged that she converted to Islam under coercion and that her wedding papers (nikahnama) are forged.
Aarifa, who was Payal Singhvi before she converted to Islam to marry school friend Faiez Modi, 23, was produced before the court on Tuesday.
Modi’s counsel Mahesh Bora told the court Aarifa and Faiez were adults and they got married through mutual consent. He cited a Supreme Court judgment to argue that in the hearing of habeas corpus petition, the court can only order the corpus to be produced, but the court sent the woman to a government home.
A bench of Justices Gopal Krishna Vyas and Manoj Kumar Garg said, “We had sent her with the consent of corpus Payal, because there was some doubt about the documents of religion change and nikahnama.”
According to the stamp papers, the marriage was on April 13, but the certificate showed the wedding took place on April 14.
Counsel Bora then said he wished to submit a written reply from Payal. The court adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.
Later, Bora interacted with Payal with the court’s permission. She again appeared and said she does not want to go to the government home and wants to stay with her husband. Justice Vyas said Payal was an adult and was free to live as per her will.