Kochi, December 10: The father of Hadiya, who was at the centre of a conversion and marriage row, filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the Kerala High Court claiming that his daughter is missing. Hadiya had earlier claimed to have divorced her partner, whom she had married post-conversion, and married a second time.
The high court admitted the Habeas Corpus plea
The high court admitted the Habeas Corpus plea filed by her father, KM Ashokan, and will take it up for hearing on Tuesday. A division bench headed by Justice Anil K Narendran will hear the petition. The petition comes close to Hadiya claiming to have separated from her first husband, Shefin Jahan, from Kollam.
"Hadiya, who runs a health clinic in Malappuram, has not been seen for the past one month and the police should be directed to find and return her daughter," read the plea filed by Hadiya's father. Ashokan claimed further that he visited her clinic in Malappuram but found it closed, adding that even her neighbours said they had no clue about her whereabouts.
Hadiya's father had filed a complaint at the Perinthalmanna police station
In 2017, Hadiya's father had filed a complaint at the Perinthalmanna police station, alleging that she was forced to convert to Islam. He alleged that Hadiya, who was pursuing a DHMS course in Salem at the time, was forced into conversion by a colleague at the institute she was studying in.
However, Hadiya denied her father's claim, saying that she had converted of her own free will after taking her nuptial vows with Shefin Jahan. The HC annulled Hadiya's marriage in May 2017 in light of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) report, claiming that she was a victim of "indoctrination and psychological kidnapping".
In 2018, the Supreme Court set aside the HC order and ruled against the annulment of the marriage, on a plea filed by Shefin, and ordered that the couple be left alone.
'I am happy to have got freedom at last'
"I am happy to have got freedom at last. I had moved Supreme Court as I wanted to live as a Muslim with my partner," Hadiya said at a press conference in light of the apex court judgment.
However, she went public recently informing that she had divorced her husband of seven years as she didn't get along with him. Hadiya said she has been running a clinic in Malappuram since her divorce.
Born to a Hindu family as Akhila Asokan, Hadiya became a Muslim in 2016
Born to a Hindu family as Akhila Asokan, Hadiya became a Muslim after entering into wedlock with Shefin in 2016. The matter hit the headlines after her father moved court, claiming that she had fallen victim to 'love jihad'.
