Love Jihad row: Hadiya wants to stay with husband

Almost three months after the Supreme Court granted Hadiya her freedom, the 24-year-old student has expressed her willingness to live with her husband Shafin Jahan.

In granting her freedom, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had appointed the dean of her college as her guardian. However, in her affidavit, Haidya requested to be allowed to live with her husband and sought to appoint her husband as her guardian instead. 

“Embracing Islam was my choice, as per my conscience and on my own free will, after studying about Islam and, thereafter, I married Shafin Jahan, the petitioner herein, from the same faith as per my choice and on my own free will,” the homeopathic student said. 

“However, despite the fact that I submitted repeatedly on affidavit, through my counsel and also in person, as the case may be, before the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala that I made the above choices (of religion and life-partner) on my own free will, the High Court Bench did not heed to my submissions,” she said.

Hadiya was caught in the eye of a storm for converting to Islam and marrying Shafin Jahan. In May 2017, the Kerala High Court had nullified her marriage with Jahan on the heels of a plea by her father who claimed it was a case of love jihad. In November 2017, after living under strict parental supervision for 11 months, Haidya was granted freedom to live by herself and continue her education. 

In her affidavit filed on Tuesday, Hadiya added that her father’s plea before the top court was a result of vested interests and certain sections of the society using him to further their propaganda. 

“Otherwise, I do not see how my father, who is an atheist, would object to me changing my religion or marrying someone from a different religion. I further submit that all those people who played and are still playing behind my father and all those errant personnel, both official and non-official, who subjected or caused to subject me to the horrendous torture and torments as stated above are liable to be brought to justice.”

Won’t denounce parents

• Hadiya sought action against people who she believes motivated her father Asokan KM to fight the love jihad case against her husband Shafin Jahan in court.
• She also said that she loved her parents and would not denounce them.