'Love jihad' case: Hadiya (left) must be presented in court on November 27 by her father Ashokan KM
Highlights
- Hadiya is 24, father had her marriage annulled in Kerala
- Her consent is 'prime', bring her here on Nov 27: Supreme Court
- Father says son-in-law has ISIS links, alleges 'love jihad' for terror
Hadiya is 24 years old, her consent as an adult is "prime" and her version of how and why she married a Muslim man in Kerala last year will be heard on November 27, the Supreme Court said today as it examined the landmark "love jihad" case that has become the subject of an investigation by the country's top counter-terror agency.
Her testimony next month will be made in open court, judges said today, which means the hearing can be attended by the public.
24-year-old Akhila Ashokan took the name Hadiya after converting to Islam, married a Muslim man she met on an Islamist matrimonial site, and was then taken to court by her father, who alleged that the marriage was a form of recruitment by ISIS that is
gaining currency in Kerala.
In May, the Kerala High Court annulled Hadiya's marriage and ordered her to return to live with her parents in the Kottayam district. Her husband, Shafin Jehan, has appealed against the annulment as well as the sanction given in August by the Supreme Court to the National Investigating Agency to determine if his marriage is part of an emerging pattern which sees vulnerable Hindu women being lured by Muslim men who are agents of terrorist groups including ISIS.
"Get me out of here. Today or tomorrow,
I am going to die. I am sure about this. My father is getting angry, I can make out. He pushes me," Hadiya said in a video released last week by an activist who met her family and her in August.
Akilha's father, Ashokan KM, has denied his daughter's allegations.
The activist, Rahul Easwar, says he will submit his recording to the Supreme Court. "While I am a Hindu activist, I believe Hadiya's voice must also be heard," Mr Eashwar told NDTV.
The National Investigating Agency or NIA told judges today that it has evidence of nearly 90 "similar cases" of indoctrination and radicalization in Kerala, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The Kerala government earlier this month told the Supreme Court that its police had conducted a "thorough investigation" into Hadiya's conversion and marriage and did not find any merit for the involvement of the NIA.