Considering the habeas corpus petition filed by one Anees Hameed from Kannur district, seeking the release of his wife Sruthi Meledath from her family’s custody, Kerala High Court on Tuesday warned against the indiscriminate use of ‘love-jihad’ as an excuse to break up inter-religious couples.
An irate court told the lawyer of the wife’s family, “Don’t say love jihad in every here and there.”
The Kerala High Court warned that crying out ‘Love Jihad’ for every inter-religious case of marriage or conversion that comes up, was not appropriate.
Sruthi, a woman from Pariyaram of Kannur district was in a relationship with her classmate Anees Hameed and had got married.
In the first habeas corpus petition filed by her father, she had gone with her parents and later when Anees filed the petition she preferred to go with her husband.
She had said in the court that her parents had forcibly kept her in Siva Sakthi Yoga Vidya Kendram in Trippunithura near Kochi, which is now under a cloud for allegedly torturing girls who were in inter-faith relationships.
She had also informed the court that she was tortured at the centre by counsellors.
When the advocate for the yoga centre argued that Sruthi’s marriage was a case of love jihad, the court said “Don’t say love jihad in every here and there,’’ The Indian Express reports.
Justices V Chitambaresh and Sathish Ninan also said that habeas corpus petitions should not be sensationalised.
The court also allowed Sruti to go with Anees.
Kerala High Court’s observation came three days after the Supreme Court stated that a Hindu girl’s marriage with a Muslim man doesn’t call for an NIA probe, while hearing the Hadiya case.
Meanwhile, a Christian helpline, set up with the support of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) associated Hindu helpline to prevent ‘Love Jihad’, had filed a petition in Kerala High Court seeking to be made part of the case involving Sivasakthi Yogavidya Kendram.
They claimed that Christian women are also being preyed upon.