Kerala HC dismisses ‘love jihad’ charge, allows interfaith couple to stay together

A bench of justices VG Arun and CS Sudha dismissed a petition filed by the woman’s father, P Joseph, alleging that the 26-year-old Jyotsna Joseph married Shejin, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) youth wing leader, under pressure in an apparent case of “love jihad".

The Kerala high court on Tuesday allowed a Catholic woman to live with her Muslim husband and refused to interfere with her decision to wed outside her faith in a case that sparked a political storm after her relatives alleged she was forced into marriage.

The court said it interacted with Jyotsna Joseph and found that she married Shejin of her “own free will” and not under any “compulsion”.

A bench of justices VG Arun and CS Sudha dismissed a petition filed by the woman’s father, P Joseph, alleging that the 26-year-old Jyotsna Joseph married Shejin, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) youth wing leader, under pressure in an apparent case of “love jihad". The term is used by right-wing groups to describe relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, but the courts and the Union government do not officially recognise it.

The court said it interacted with Jyotsna Joseph and found that she married Shejin of her “own free will” and not under any “compulsion”

“She further states that as of now she is not interested in interacting with her parents which she will do at a later stage. Taking note of the categorical stance of the detenue and being convinced that there is no illegal detention, the petition is closed,” the court said in its order.

The bench told the family that while it understood their concern, their daughter was a 26-year-old woman, who was a nurse in Saudi Arabia, and capable of making her own decisions. “She has taken a decision and she is not deviating from it. It is her will and pleasure. She is not willing to speak to her parents now, so how can we compel her to do so,” it said.

After Tuesday’s verdict, P Joseph said he did not want to meet his daughter, even as Shejin assured that Jyotsna will retain her religious identity. “She will realise her folly one day and repent,” he said.

“I understand my parents are terribly upset. I will convince them later,” Jyotsna Joseph said in response.

The judgment brings the curtain down on a political and social controversy that engulfed Kerala over the past two weeks, especially after a leader from the ruling party backed the father’s allegation and said love jihad existed in society. The CPI(M) later distanced itself from the comment.

The incident also brought back memories of the 2017 controversy around medical student Hadiya, who converted to Islam and married Shefin Jahan, only to find her father file an abduction case and approach the courts. In that case, the National Investigation Agency was asked to look into the allegations before the Supreme Court sided with Hadiya, saying she was an adult and had the right to decide who she wanted to marry.

Jyotsna eloped with Shejin, a local Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) member in Kozhikode, after her parents arranged her marriage with another man belonging to the Catholic community, said P Joseph.

DYFI is the youth wing of the ruling CPM.

The couple went missing from Kodencherry on April 9, sparking protests by Christian groups. The group alleged it to be a case of “love jihad”.

On Monday, P Joseph filed a petition in the high court. He also said that he lacked faith in Kerala Police to look into the matter and wanted an agency from outside the state, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Last week, the couple appeared before a localcourt and expressed their intention to live together. The court agreed. The couple later said they loved each other but were scared to inform their parents about their relationship.

Her family, however, alleged she was “kidnapped” by Shejin and his friends. Jyotsna denied her family’s allegations and told the court she had left out of her own free will.

The incident triggered a political storm after CPI(M) leader George M Thomas alleged that “love jihad” existed in the society. “Sad, this is happening when the party is getting closer to the Christian community… the circumstances behind the sudden marriage raise enough questions. We will seek an explanation from him and take appropriate action,” he had said.

The party later dismissed his remark, calling it a “mere slip of tongue”.

The party’s district committee Kozhikode is likely to meet on Wednesday to discuss the leader’s remark.