Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar said the investigation could not target any particular community.
The Kerala high court stayed on Thursday the investigation into a suspected case of ‘love jihad’, giving reprieve to two Pathanamthitta youth accused of converting their lovers to Islam. Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar said the investigation could not target any particular community. “Inter-religion marriages are common in our society and it cannot be seen as a crime,” he said.
Nambiar, hearing a petition by Shahan Shah and Sirajuddeen to quash the FIR against them, was critical of the police handling of the case. He cited anomalies in the investigation and asked police to set their track right.
‘Love jihad’ started doing the rounds after two college girls accused their former lovers — Shahan Shah, a college student, and Sirajuddin, a bus conductor — of conspiracy and forced conversion. The Sangh Parivar and the Church were quick to press the panic button, claiming that hundreds of girls were being wooed and converted to Islam by a mysterious group called ‘Love Jihad’. They even started helplines for the lovelorn of their respective flocks.
A bench of the high court had earlier taken another view and recommended that the government enact a law to counter such “deceptive” acts. Dismissing an anticipatory bail petition by the two accused, justice KT Shankaran noted that there were indications of forced religious conversion in the name of love. He even said there had been 3,000-4,000 cases of ‘love jihad’ in Kerala in the past four years. Shankaran had refused to accept DGP Jacob Punnoose’s report, which ruled out an organised conversion movement in Kerala. Punnoose had rejected the charge that Muslim youth were being offered money and amenities to lure girls from other faiths.
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