Mumbai: On Friday, a Hindu woman, Payal Sanghvi, who is now known as Aarifa appeared in a burqa in the Rajasthan High Court declared that she had married a Muslim named Faiz Mohammad in April.
The woman’s family however claimed that it was an instance of ‘love jihad’ alleging that their daughter was kidnapped, blackmailed and was converted to Islam under coercion.
Appearing in a veil on Wednesday before the court, 22-year-old Payal told that she was present “on her own free will” without any threat or inducement.
The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the 22-year-old woman’s brother, Chirag Sanghvi, who says his sister went missing on October 25 from their home.
He told the court that when he went to the police, they “refused to register an FIR” and therefore the family went to the court.
In his petition, the brother claimed that one Faiz Modi had been harassing his sister for long and abducted her while she was going to college. She was made to sign some papers by him and fake marriage documents were prepared, he alleged.
Police told the court Aarifa, attached a copy of her nikahnama with the letter to the police commissioner saying she converted to Islam and married a man of her own free choice.
Her family’s lawyers, however, allege that she was blackmailed and her nikaah nama or marriage contract was forged.
The court raised doubts about Aarifa’s wedding and questioned as to how the police could assume that the girl’s conversion was legal “just by way of an affidavit over a stamp paper of Rs 10”, when there was no provision in law in this regard.
“By this way, tomorrow, even I could address myself as Gopal Mohammad,” it said.
Not satisfied with the response, the Rajasthan High Court had issued directions that an FIR be registered. Police registered a case against Faiz Modi under Sections 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc.), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 384 (extortion) of the IPC and have started the investigation in the matter.
The court also directed that the girl be sent to Nari Niketan (women shelter) for seven days and instructed the police to ensure that no one meets her there.
Following the incident, women’s rights activists on Saturday said further investigation in this matter will reveal the truth.
The matter comes in the backdrop of the controversy over a case of a Kerala Hindu woman, who had converted to Islam before marrying a Muslim man, Shafin Jahan.
The Kerala High Court had annulled his marriage and described it as an instance of ‘love jihad’, which was challenged by Jahan.
Agencies inputs