Was HC ruling on Hadiya justified: SC

New Delhi, February 22 

The Supreme Court today asked if a roving inquiry could be ordered into the “issue of consent” between two adults who had  married at will and if the Kerala High Court order annulling the marriage of Hadiya, an alleged victim of ‘love jihad,’ was justified.

The questions by a Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud came during the hearing of the Kerala conversion case. “What troubles us is that whether there can be a roving inquiry into the issue of consent between two adults who have agreed to marry,” the Bench said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Whether the High Court was justified in nullifying the marriage was a pure question of law, it added. “Marriage and investigation are two different things. As far as marriage is concerned, it does not warrant any investigation. Investigation has nothing to do with it. You can investigate any other thing,” the court said.

Hadiya, the 25-year-old woman who is at the centre of an alleged love jihad controversy, had on Tuesday filed an affidavit before the top court, claiming she had willingly converted to Islam and wanted to live with her husband Shafin Jahan. — PTI