Supreme Court refuses to defer hearing in Hadiya love jihad case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to adjourn the Kerala love-jihad case hearing involving Hadiya scheduled for Thursday. Hadiya's father had requested the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to defer Thursday's hearing, but the court did not accept the petition.

Hadiya, a Hindu by birth and named as Akhila Ashokan, had converted to Islam several months before her marriage to Shafin Jahan. She had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that she is a Muslim and wanted to remain one and added that she wants to remain Shafin's wife.

In November 2017, too, Hadiya had claimed that she was not forced to convert to Islam. "I am a Muslim. I want to go with my husband. Nobody forced me to convert," she had said. On November 27, 2017, the top court had ruled that Hadiya could pursue her homoeopathy studies under her previous Hindu name at Salem medical college in Tamil Nadu.

An SC bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra had given its direction after interacting with Hadiya even as she had pleaded that she should be allowed to go with her 'husband'. The bench had directed the college and the university to re-admit Hadiya and grant her hostel facilities.

Hadiya was in the custody of her parents for almost six months after the Kerala High Court had on May 29, 2017, annulled her 'nikah' with Shafin.

Hadiya's father had welcomed the apex court decision allowing her to continue her studies. He had said that she had wanted to go to Syria after converting to Islam. "Hadiya does not have any idea about Syria, where she wanted to go after converting to Islam," he had said and had added, "I cannot have a terrorist in the family."