New Delhi: It has been over two months since Hadiya, the woman at the centre of the alleged love jihad controversy, was sent back to her college in Salem by the Supreme Court to enable her to pursue her homeopathic studies.
Now, on Tuesday, the apex court will hear her husband Shafin Jahan’s plea against the Kerala High Court annulling their marriage. As the case takes yet another turn, let’s take a look at what the love jihad case is and what transpired so far.
May 2017
The Kerala High Court annulled the marriage of Jahan and Hadiya after her father alleged that she was indoctrinated into Islam and that Jahan had held her captive.
The case soon came to be known as the ‘love jihad’ case after Hadiya’s father, Asokan, alleged that his daughter was to be recruited for ISIS’s mission in Syria and that Jahan was the reason behind it. Asokan had alleged that there was a "well-oiled systematic mechanism" for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.
The HC, while declaring the marriage as "null and void", had described the case as an instance of 'love jihad' and ordered the state police to conduct probe into such cases.
Soon after annulling the marriage, the HC gave Asokan legal custody of his daughter
August 2017
After two months, in August, Jahan approached the Supreme Court with a special leave petition. The apex court asked the NIA to investigate the case and asks the Kerala government to produce all documents related to the case.
October 2017
The apex court heard Jahan’s plea to quash the NIA investigation. A SC bench led by CJI Dipak Misra questioned the NIA probe and also raised doubts on Hadiya’s father’s custody of her, saying that Asokan could not demand her custody. Hadiya is asked to appear in court to present her side of the story.
Later that month, social activist Rahul Easwaran released a video where Hadiya could be seen pleading for help and accuses her father of physically assaulting her.
November 2017
Days after the SC said that they want Hadiya to appear before it on November 27, her husband, Jahan spoke to News18 and said that he was concerned about his wife’s safety.
On November 27, Hadiya appears in court and tells the apex court bench that she intends to pursue her studies. During the hearing which went for over-two hours, she said she wanted to go with her husband Shafin Jahan. When Justice Chandrachud asked her about her dreams for the future, she said, "I want freedom."
The chief Justice admitted that he has never seen such a case in his life. The top court fixed the hearing on Jahan's plea against Kerala HC order annulling his marriage with Hadiya to third week of January, 2018.
December 2017
Hadiya met her husband on December 3 after almost a year of being apart. The meeting took place in the compound of Sivaraj Homeopathy medical college, where Hadiya is continuing her studies on the order of the Supreme Court. It lasted for around 45 minutes and was held under surveillance cameras.
“It was very emotional. I was meeting her after a very long time. She told me about her experiences during the past year and I shared the same with her. We haven’t decided when to meet next but this meeting went smoothly,” Jahan told News18.
January 2018
The SC is all set to hear Jahan’s plea to quash the Kerala HC’s order on annulment of his marriage. Sources close to Jahan’s legal team said that they were, now, not keen on fast tracking the hearing since their priority of getting Hadiya out of her father’s unlawful custody had been achieved.
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