Not all inter-religious marriages are ‘love jihad’: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Thursday denounced the labelling of all inter-religious marriages as either “love jihad” or “ghar wapsi”.

A division bench of V Chitambaresh and Satish Ninan made the observation while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Anees Hameed, 25, from Kannur, who had moved court seeking the release of his wife Sruthi Meledath from her family’s custody.

The Hindu reported that the Bench, ruling that Sruthi be allowed to stay with Hameed, dismissed the petitions of the woman’s parents and a helpline run by a Christian group, and said: “We are appalled to notice the recent trend in the State to sensationalise every case of inter-religious marriage as either ‘love jihad’ or ‘ghar wapsi’ even if there was platonic love between the spouses before.”

Slamming the campaign by religious groups against “Love Jihad”, the judges also said “every case of inter-religious marriage shall not be portrayed on a religious canvas and create fissures in the communal harmony otherwise existing in God’s own country Kerala”.

The bench also pointed out that “this is a free and democratic country and once a person becomes a major, he or she can marry whosoever he or she likes”. It voiced concern over “disturbing news coming from several parts of the country that young men and women who undergo inter-caste marriages are threatened with violence or violence is actually committed on them”.

In the case being heard, the court pointed out that Sruthi had been in love with Anees for long, which had “blossomed into a permanent relationship leading to a martial tie”.