Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to interfere with the decision of a Christian woman to marry a Muslim DYFI leader after her father moved a habeas corpus plea raising 'love jihad' allegations in the matter.
A Division Bench of Justice V.G. Arun and Justice C.S Sudha decided to dispose of the petition after hearing the woman who confirmed that she was not illegally detained and that she had taken the decision voluntarily.
The bench also told the woman's family that she has said she intended to visit them after her marriage, for which an application under the Special Marriage Act has been moved and is pending consideration, and not before that.
The Court noted that her decision seemed to be a well-thought one particularly since she was a 26-year-old woman working abroad. The Bench held that she was mature to make her own decisions while adding that the bride and groom were free to decide their future under the Special Marriage Act.
The woman's father, Joseph had moved a habeas corpus plea alleging that his daughter had been illegally detained and seeking directions from the police to produce her before him.
He had also told news channels that since the day his daughter left her home, she has not spoken to any of them, and therefore, he believed that she was being restrained against her will by the DYFI leader.
Joseph had also said that he lacked faith in the Kerala Police to look into the matter and wanted an agency from outside the state, like the CBI or NIA, to investigate what had happened.
The interfaith relationship stirred up a political storm after the woman's relatives alleged "love jihad", with a senior Left party leader supporting the charge, only to retract his statement later.
The CPI(M), thereafter, made it clear that there was nothing unnatural in interfaith marriages and the campaign of 'love jihad' was a creation of RSS and Sangh Parivar.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing outfits to claim that Muslim men lure women from other faiths to convert them into Islam.
The couple had denied the allegations of her family.