Hadiya case: SC again asks if Kerala court can annul marriage between two consenting adults

The apex court adjourned the matter for further hearing till March 8, news agency ANI reported.

Stating that she had embraced Islam and married on her own free will, Hadiya had on Tuesday filed an affidavit before the apex court seeking its permission to live with her husband Shefin Jahan. Earlier in January, the Supreme Court had said it cannot question Hadiya’s choice of husband and directed the NIA to not probe her ‘marital status’.

Akhila, a Hindu woman from Kerala, had embraced Islam, changed her name to Hadiya, and married a Muslim, Shefin Jahan. But their marriage was annulled by the Kerala High Court in May last year.

Read | Her journey from Akhila to become Hadiya

Stating that she wants to “continue to live as wife of my beloved husband Mr Shafin Jahan”, and that she “embraced Islam and married him on my own free will”, Hadiya, has alleged that her father, K M Asokan, kept her in house arrest after her custody was granted to him.

In an affidavit filed in Supreme Court, Hadiya, 25, also claimed that her father appears to be “under the influence” of certain people, who are “trying to use him”.  Hadiya is currently doing house surgeon’s duty, having completed Bachelor’s degree in Homeopathic medicine, at a college in Salem, Tamil Nadu, following a Supreme Court order. Hadiya also submitted that she “suffered” after the Kerala High Court ordered her to stay in a hostel, and later at her parents’ home.  Read More