Kerala love Jihad case: SC orders NIA to investigate the matter

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the National Investigating Agency to probe on Hadiya's conversion and subsequent allegations of love jihad. The matter will be supervised by former Supreme Court judge R V Raveendran. Earlier, the apex court had asked the NIA to find out if this was an isolated case of love jihad or there was a trend in Kerala regarding the same. The NIA told court that it didn't appear to be an isolated case and a detailed investigation was necessary. Their marriage was annulled by the Kerala High Court on May 24.

A 26-year-old Shefin had moved the plea challenging the Kerala High Court's verdict annulling his marriage with Akhila Ashokan alias Hadiya. He claims the police and Hadiya's parents dragged various theories, including the disappearance of 21 youth from the state, to get the verdict in their favour.

He said Hadiya's father KM Ashokan, who is an ex-serviceman had given an affidavit before the court saying that Jahan was a member of a fundamentalist outfit and involved in three criminal cases. However the husband had opposed the same and said that the NIA should not probe into the matter.

Jahan also claimed that he met Hadiya through a Muslim matrimony site in August last year and they married in December. Hadiya's father had contended that his only daughter was indoctrinated while pursuing her studies with the intention of sending her to Syria.

Love jihad is a term used by right-wing Hindu groups to describe inter-faith marriages which they say is an Islamist conspiracy to convert Hindu women through marriage or coercion.

OneIndia News