Kerala HC Refuses To Interfere in Christian Woman's Marriage to Muslim Man

Joisna, however, submitted before the court that she went with Shejin with her consent.

Joisna Mary Joseph and Shejin

(Photo: TNM)

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 19 April, refused to interfere in the interfaith marriage of 26-year-old Joisna Mary Joseph with Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leader Shejin after Joseph's father claimed that his daughter was being held without her consent.

The court on Tuesday disposed of a habeas corpus writ filed by Joisna's father after she said that she married with Shejin out of her own will.

Following the petition, the court had ordered Joisna to appear before it on Tuesday.

After interacting with Joisna, a bench of Justices V G Arun and CS Sudha said, "She has categorically stated she has decided to marry Shejin (DYFI leader) out of her own free will and not under any compulsion," as per news agency PTI.

Joisna Is Capable of Making Her Own Decisions: Court

The court also informed the woman's family that Joisna intends to meet them after her marriage and had also filed an application for the same under the Special Marriage Act which is yet to be approved. She does not want to meet the family before the approval of the application, the court said.

Stating that it understands their concerns, the court told Joisna's parents that their daughter was capable of making her own decisions.

"She has also stated that as of now she was not interested in interacting with her parents or family and will do so at a later stage," the court said, in its order.

"She has taken a decision and she is not deviating from it. It is her will and pleasure. She is not willing to speak to her parents now, so how can we compel her to do so," it said, as per news agency PTI.

Background

According to The News Minute, on 12 April, the couple registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act (SMA).

This happened just a few weeks after Joisna returned from Saudi Arabia for her engagement with another person. Joisna had later eloped with Shejin and subsequently married him by exchanging garlands and registering their marriage.

The woman's father Joseph, meanwhile, approached the Kerala High Court with Habeas Corpus petition and asked the court to direct the police to bring his daughter to him. He had also sought for an independent probe into her daughter's marriage as "he did not have faith in the Kerala police."

Soon after Joisna eloped, Joseph had also filed a missing person complaint stating that she was forced to marry Shejin. Speaking to the media, Joseph claimed that he suspected it to be a forced marriage as Joisna had not spoken to him or her other family members after marriage.

Joisna, however, has been consistently saying that she is with the DYFI leader on her on will.

The couple's marriage triggered a political storm in the state after her relatives alleged that it is a case of 'love jihad.' Their allegations were fuelled by the controversial statement of a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) leader who stated that 'love jihad' exists in the state and cited Joisna and Shejin's marriage as an example. The leader, however, retracted his statement later after the CPI(M)'s district leadership intervened.

(With inputs from The News Minute, PTI, ANI.)