Hadiya’s father K.M. Asokan has approached the court, seeking to bring his daughter before it for legal scrutiny.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Kerala High Court has asked the police to furnish an action taken report on a complaint filed by the father of Hadiya, formerly known as Akhila, alleging that his daughter was being illegally detained by her husband Shafin Jahan and certain persons associated with him.
A division bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice C. Pratheep Kumar on Tuesday directed the counsel appearing for the state government to get details about the steps taken by the police after Hadiya’s father, K.M. Asokan, submitted a complaint to the Inspector General of Police, media reports reaching here said on Wednesday.
Hadiya is a 31-year-old woman from Kerala’s Kottayam who converted to Islam and subsequently married Shafin Jahan. Her actions created a big furore across the country with the matter reaching the Supreme Court. The apex court overturned an earlier high court order annuling her marriage terming it to be a “sham” and directed that Hadiya be placed in the protective custody of her Hindu parents or an institution so that she is prevented from being a further victim of “love jihad”. The Supreme Court criticised the high court verdict as trampling upon the decisional autonomy of an adult woman.
The apex court stated that the high court erred in reflecting upon social radicalisation and other aspects. It opined that if there was any criminality in any sphere, it was for law enforcement agencies to do the needful.
Hadiya’s father Asokan has now approached the high court, seeking to bring his daughter before the court for legal scrutiny.
He has claimed that his several attempts for over a month to reach her over the phone have proved futile and the clinic she was running has closed down. He has, therefore, sought a habeas corpus writ to produce Hadiya in court.
Asokan’s plea stated that he and his wife used to speak to Hadiya over the phone and have also occasionally visited her. The plea further stated that Hadiya also informed her parents over the phone that she does not have any marital relations with Shafin Jahan now and that she does not know his whereabouts.
The petitioner apprehends that Hadiya was in the illegal custody of the respondents, who were members of a banned organization called Popular Front of India (PFI). Shafin Jahan was also arraigned as the 6th respondent.
Asokan also claimed in his petition that the marriage between Hadiya and Jahan is only on paper and that there is no actual marital relationship between them.
“Whenever the petitioner called the detenu for the last one month, the detenu is not receiving any calls and on many occasions, the mobile phone was switched off. On 03/12/2023, the petitioner went to the clinic and found it was closed. The neighbours told the petitioner that they don’t have any idea about the same. Now the petitioner apprehends that she has been moved to the illegally custody of the place and control of the respondents 3 and 4. Now the detenu is in the illegal custody of the persons under collusion and connivance of the 4th and 6th respondent. So the detenu is to be released at the earliest,” the petition said.
In 2016, Asokan moved the Kerala High Court with a similar habeas corpus petition alleging that Jahan had detained her illegally.
