The Supreme Court will begin hearing in the Kerala Love Jihad case. Hadiya the lady in question has arrived at the court of the Chief Justice.
Shafin Jahan, the Muslim man she was married to is also present in the court hall. Hadiya’s parents are pressing for an in-camera proceeding of the matter.
Counsel Shyam Diwan urged the court to hear the matter in-camera. He said that it would be in the interest of the girl that the matter is not heard in open court as it is a security issue. He also said that the matter is a very communally charged one.
‘There are many big organisations behind this. She has already given her statement in the media and it would now be better if the matter is heard in-camera’, Diwan also argued.
Hadiya’s father too urged that the court hear the proceedings in-camera. The father, Ashokan cited security reasons and also handed over a transcript of a PFI leader’s conversation.
The Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh told the Bench that the findings given by the National Investigation Agency are very crucial in nature. Whenever the court has the time, I am ready to read out those relevant portions, he also said.
Earlier the parents had contended that Hadiya is not in a stable state of mind and is not capable of making decisions on her own. The same would be submitted to the Supreme Court.
The Kerala High Court had annulled the marriage while terming it as a case of forced conversion. The same was challenged in the SC by Jahan.