Kerala High Court today rejected the Habeas Corpus of Dr. Hadiya’s father Asokan, alleging that they were unable to contact or find out the whereabouts of his daughter and she has been missing since the last month.
Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice C. Pratheep Kumar were part of the division bench which stated that the Habeas Corpus Petition was not acceptable as Hadiya is not under any illegal detention. The bench further asserted that she has her right to live a free life.
The court refused to entertain Asokan’s plea after considering Hadiya’s statement which clarified that she got divorced and married again and was now living in Trivandrum. In support of her statement, she submitted her call records to show that she was in contact with her parents. She has also presented her address and contact details before the Court.
The plea of her father was represented by Advocates C.Rajendran, B.K.Gopalakrishnan and R.S.Sreevidya.
Dr. Akhila converted to Islam in 2017, following which she assumed the name Hadiya. Her father filed a habeas corpus petition in the Kerala High Court then, alleging that she was forcefully converted. The High Court initially nullified the marrage of Hadiya and Shafin Jahan, which took place during the pendency of the petition, by invoking the parens patriae doctrine.
Later in 2018, the Supreme Court upheld “the personal autonomy of a woman to choose her life partner”, and revoked the Kerala High Court order that annulled Hadiya’s marriage with Shafin Jahan. The court emphasised Hadiya’s submission before the Court that she had converted and married on her own free will.
