The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to interfere in the marriage of a Christian woman to a Muslim man, observing 'she has taken a decision... it is her will and pleasure'. The appeal against the marriage - alleged as a case of 'love jihad' - was filed by the woman's father, who told the court his daughter had been illegally detained and filed a habeas corpus plea seeking directions to the police to produce her before him.
"She has categorically stated she has decided to marry... of her own free will and not under any compulsion. She has also stated that as of now she is not interested in interacting with her parents or family, and will do so at a later stage," the court noted in its order, according to news agency PTI.
The couple said they had applied for a licence under the Special Marriage Act and did not plan to meet the woman's parents before it was granted.
The court also told the woman's family that it understood their concerns, but pointed out she is a 26-year-old woman capable of making her decisions.
"She has taken a decision and 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…"
The father had said he lacked faith in Kerala Police and wanted an agency from outside the state, like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate.
{{/usCountry}}The father had said he lacked faith in Kerala Police and wanted an agency from outside the state, like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate.
{{/usCountry}}The marriage also sparked a political row because the man is a member of the ruling CPI(M)'s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India or DYFI.
A statement by the CPI(M) district secretariat member and former MLA George M Thomas supporting the 'love jihad' allegations added more fuel to the row.
Thomas later issued a clarification; news agency PTI quoted him as saying his remarks were twisted by communal forces.
The party later slammed 'love jihad' as a creation of the RSS and Sangh Parivar.
However, senior BJP leader and union minister V Muraleedhaaran attacked the CPI(M)'s 'hypocrisy' on the ‘love jihad’ issue.
'Love jihad' is a right-wing conspiracy theory that alleges Muslim men seduce Hindu women into marriage to convert them.
Several BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, have brought (or announced) laws targeting 'love jihad' over the past two years.
The term, however, is not recognised by the centre; in February 2020 the home ministry told the Lok Sabha the phrase is 'not defined in law'.
With input from PTI