Free Hadiya: Mass deputation near Supreme Court tomorrow

Pinjra Tod, a Delhi-based collective of students has called for a mass deputation to the Chief Justice of India on August 31, outside the Aga Khan Hall near the Supreme Court, in a case pertaining to a Hindu woman converting to Islam and marrying a Muslim man.

The mass deputation, which is part of a ‘Free Hadiya’ campaign, is being done to ‘free’ a 24-year-old who has been put under alleged house arrest for the past 18 months.

Akhila alias Hadiya, who is at the centre of the infamous Kerala love jihad case, had gone missing on January 6, 2016, from Salem where she was pursuing a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery course. Through what turned out to be a long winding case, counting both petitions filed by Ashokan, Akhila’s father, the Kerala High Court sent Akhila to SNV Sadaram, a ladies’ hostel in Kerala’s Ernakulam, without access to mobile phones. The next course of action will be ascertained in the hearing, a date for which will be finalized after the National Investigation Agency submits its report. (Read more here.)

Pinjra Tod along with other students’ and women’s groups such as Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Youth Forum for Discussions and Welfare Activities has sent out a call for mass deputation demanding Hadiya’s release. The organisation has also filed an online appeal.