SC orders probe into Kerala 'Love Jihad' case

The case moved to the court after Kerala-native Shafin Jahan challenged the annulment of his marriage by the Kerala High Court which ordered the state police to probe such cases.

Image: File photo

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into a case where a Hindu woman married a Muslim man after getting converted and the marriage was eventually annulled by the Kerala High Court as it amounted to 'Love Jihad'. The SC said that it will take a view after considering NIA's reports and inputs from Kerala police. The statement of woman will also be taken into consideration. A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Kehar said that the former Supreme Court judge R V Raveendran will supervise the investigation. It also directed the probe agency to furnish the report to it after completing the investigation. The NIA told SC that there is a pattern to convert Hindu girls and get them married to Muslim men. The direction came after the NIA's statement to the court. However, the Kerala government did not oppose an NIA investigation into the matter. The case moved to the court after Kerala-native Shafin Jahan challenged the annulment of his marriage by the Kerala High Court which ordered the state police to probe such cases. Jahan married a Hindu woman last December. He said that it was an insult to the independence of women in this country. In order to get to the core of the case, on June 10 the SC had allowed NIA to access all records of the investigation into the case. Meanwhile, the court has directed the Kerala DGP to share records of the probe conducted so far with the NIA. The father of the woman, Ashokan KM, alleged that there was a well oiled systematic mechanism for conversion and Islamic radicalisation. On the other hand, while questioning the need for an NIA probe, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked that why is the NIA probing the case. They should then make it a national security issue. He added that if someone wants to convert as per the Constitution, how is it love jihad. Recently, NIA conducted a probe into some of the cases of 'love jihad' in which women were allegedly being sent to Syria to join ISIS.