Kottayam: Hadiya’s marriage to Shefin Jahan has become an ongoing battle between her and her father, KM Ashokan, a retired Army driver.
The Supreme Court on January 23 noted that NIA probe will not be responsible for deciding her marriage that was annulled by the High court.
“You cannot investigate the marital aspect…you cannot investigate whether she married a good person or a bad person,” Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had said.
“A major woman can’t be forced to live with her parents. Only Hadiya had a right to decide on her choices,” said the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
“Can a court annul a marriage when both the man and the woman are adults? Will deal with only this question of law,” the court had asked.
According to Hadiya’s parents, her marriage to Jahan was a matter of love jihad and a forceful conversion to Islam. However, the 24-year-old Hadiya has so far denied these claims and clarified that she had reverted out of her own free will.
The counsel for Hadiya’s father, Rajendran, said that investigating agency’s material should be looked into as a modus operandi exists for conversion.
Meanwhile, Hadiya’s father who did not believe the court’s statement nor does he seem to get tired is ready to file a fresh petition in the court. The SC to hear the case on February 22.