Kerala 'love jihad' case: Didn't change religion to marry Shafin, I believe in Islam, says Hadiya days after SC ruling

The Supreme Court on 8 March set aside the May 2017 Kerala High Court order annulling the marriage of Hadiya and Shafin Jahan. The decision of the top court came as a huge relief for the 25-year-old Hadiya and her husband. The Supreme Court had said that Hadiya was at absolute liberty to choose whom to marry. Days after the top court’s decision, Hadiya addressed a press conference and told the media that the entire fuss was over her embracing Islam. “I did not convert to Islam because I wanted to get married. I converted because I believe in Islam,” Hadiya said on Monday. “The legal battle has been ongoing for the past two years and I have finally got justice. My fight started since the day they (parents) took me under house arrest. The torture I went through hasn’t been discussed enough,” Hadiya said.

#LIVE - I have been fighting for my freedom and that's why I had to approach nothing less than the Supreme Court: Hadiya. #LoveDefeatsJihad pic.twitter.com/00zfV9Ll9B

— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 12, 2018

Hadiya said she is happy that she got freedom. “I approached Supreme Court for two things. One, I want to live as a Muslim and second, I want to live with my partner, " Hadiya said. [caption id=“attachment_4228777” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Hadiya. Reuters[/caption] The 25-year-old woman said she is 100 percent sure that she did not do anything wrong and something like her being locked up in her own house should not happen to anyone. She also thanked all those who have been fighting for her saying that she was not aware of the fight during her house arrest. She said Constitution gives you the right to chose your religion and who to marry and because it was about her freedom, she chose to directly appeal to the apex court. Hadiya further said that a lot of people told her not to behave like that with her parents but circumstances did not leave her with an option. “I love my parents a lot and I don’t intend to leave them or anger them,” Hadiya said. Looking back at the two years of struggle, Hadiya said that she should have been studying those two years and she had never thought that she would be able to sit like this and speak to the media. On 8 March, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud said: “Hadiya alias Akhila Asokan is at liberty to pursue her future endeavours according to law.” but also said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would continue its probe into the criminal dimension of the case, if any. With inputs from agencies.