New Delhi:  Kerala's Hadiya has told the Supreme Court today that she is a Muslim and wants to live as one. She has requested judges in an affidavit that she be allowed to live with her husband Shafin Jehan, who she married after she converted to Islam.

"I embraced Islam on my choice as per my conscience and on my own free will, after studying about Islam and thereafter I married Shafin Jahan. I further pray that this court may be kind enough to appoint my husband as my guardian," said Hadiya, adding that she "continues to live in confinement."

Hadiya, a 24-year-old homeopathy student, was born Hindu and was called Akhila Ashokan before she converted to Islam and changed her name. Her case has been labelled as "love jihad" by her parents and others; it is a term used by right wing groups to accuse Muslim men of marrying Hindu women, converting them and recruiting them for terrorism.

Hadiya's marriage to Shafin Jahan was annulled by the Kerala High Court last year after her parents alleged that she had been brainwashed and forced to convert to Islam in a plan by terror group ISIS to indoctrinate and take her to Syria.

Shafin Jahan had appealed in the Supreme Court against the high court order cancelling their marriage. The top court had directed the NIA to investigate whether there are any terror links to the case.

In her affidavit today, Hadiya has said that she has been "under confinement without the freedom that I am entitled to. Even now I am under police surveillance. I most humbly pray that my entire liberty may kindly be restored to me."

A marriage has to be separated from any criminal action, aspect or conspiracy, "otherwise we will be creating bad precedent", a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had said.

 

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Bengaluru: A Court has issued an arrest warrant against Hassan JD(S) MP, Prajwal Revanna in connection with the sexual abuse charges. The warrant was issued on the requisition of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after Prajwal Revanna failed to appear before the Special Investigation Team despite being served a notice, reported NDTV.

 The case against Revanna involves a controversy surrounding explicit videos, leaked through numerous pen drives in Hassan, which allegedly show him sexually assaulting several women. These video clips emerged on social media shortly after the Second phase of the Lok Sabha elections held on April 26.

The Karnataka Police's SIT, formed to deal with the case, has been waiting for Prajwal’s return to Bengaluru to surrender to the team. The 33-year-old MP left to Germany on April 27 using a diplomatic passport and has reportedly travelled to England from there.