Kerala 'love jihad': NIA files status report on probe in SC

In an alleged love-jihad case, a Kerala-based woman had recently converted to Islam before marrying a Muslim man.

New Delhi: The NIA has filed in the Supreme Court its status report on the ongoing probe in an alleged 'love jihad' case in which a Kerala-based woman had converted to Islam before marrying a Muslim man.

The status report has been filed in a sealed cover as a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra would take up the case for hearing on November 27, when the woman would be brought before it for an interaction.

The top court had in August this year directed National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the controversial case of conversion and marriage of the woman.

Shafin Jahan, the alleged husband of the woman, had moved the apex court after the Kerala High Court annulled his marriage, saying it was an insult to the independence of women in the country.

The NIA had earlier alleged in the court that there was a "well-oiled machinery working in Kerala" indulging in indoctrination and radicalisation and 89 such cases have been reported.

It had alleged that this was a case in which the woman was indoctrinated and hence the court could invoke parental authority even if she was a major.

The apex court had yesterday refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea filed by the woman's father, who had urged that interaction with his daughter be conducted in-camera, while referring to the communally sensitive nature of the case and expressed apprehension that radical elements could jeopardise the safety and privacy of his daughter and the family.

The court had then said it would deal with the plea on November 27 itself when the woman is brought before it.

The counsel for her father had earlier claimed that Jahan was a radicalised man and had links with persons who used to recruit for ISIS. This allegation was refuted by Jahan's counsel.