NEW SC BENCH ASKS WHY MARRIAGE WAS ANNULLED ON ‘LOVE JIHAD’ CHARGE

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court virtually revisited on Tuesday its earlier orders into the alleged forced conversion and marriage of a Kerala woman, questioning the annulment of her marriage and a federal anti-terror probe into a case that has deepened religious faultlines.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra questioned a Kerala high court order in May that scrapped the marriage between 24-year-old Hadiya, who converted to Islam, and Shafin Jahan. The top court also questioned its own August decision ordering a National Investigation Agency probe.

Hadiya, who was earlier called Akhila, is in her father’s custody in Thiruvananthapuram, with many activists alleging that she is being tortured by her kin.

“A father can’t have control over 24-year-old girl. It might send the girl to a custodian or an organisation,” the top court said. It also questioned an earlier order passed in August by a bench led by former CJI JS Khehar that constituted an NIA probe into the marriage and alleged forced conversion.

Hadiya’s father alleges she was forcefully converted by organised groups with links to terrorist agencies.

Jahan’s counsel told the court that the NIA probe into Jahan and Hadiya’s marriage hits at the very foundation of the multi-religious society.

The case put spotlight back on the controversial “love jihad,” a term coined by some fringe Hindu outfits to describe cases of what they believe are forced marriages between Muslim men and Hindu women.

Though the presence of the “love jihad” is still disputed, Kerala police had warned about a syndicate that funded the conversion of young women to the Muslim community many years ago.