DNA Edit: Drawing the line

After the Kerala High Court’s high-handed interference with Hadiya’s freedom in deciding her life partner, the Supreme Court has stepped in to remedy the excess.

It directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to steer clear of prying into Hadiya’s choice of entering into a marriage with Shafin Jahan, a man accused of being a recruiter for radical groups. The NIA had aggressively argued before the apex court that Hadiya had been brainwashed and indoctrinated by Jahan and that the marriage was only a means to ensnare Hadiya.

On the other hand, Hadiya’s Hindu father had argued before the Kerala High Court that his daughter, earlier known as Akhila, was forced to convert to Islam. His petition was shot down twice by two different benches before a third bench agreed to admit the petition.

Acting on the petition, the bench annulled her marriage to Jahan and handed over Hadiya’s custody to her father, in complete violation of the Fundamental Rights that are imbued in her person. Many hailed the order, declaring it as a pivotal verdict that strikes at the roots of the Muslim conspiracy to proselytise Hindu women and wage Love Jihad.

Whatever may be ones stand on the rather controversial issue of Love Jihad, there is little doubt that the Kerala HC exceeded its jurisdiction. Legal luminaries and women’s rights activists across India, quite naturally, were up in arms once the verdict was delivered.

Subsequently, hopes were pinned on the Supreme Court to mend the order of the Kerala High Court. However, the top court, instead of overturning the annulment of the marriage, ordered the NIA to probe if there indeed was a larger conspiracy of terror groups to convert Hindu women. It is only in its most recent hearing that the Supreme Court clarified it will not look into Hadiya’s liberty to marry. Effectively, securing a woman’s basic right.