COIMBATORE:
A Kerala woman, Hadiya, who is at the centre of an alleged love-jihad case, will pursue her homeopathy studies under her previous Hindu name, the Salem medical college principal said today, a day after the Supreme Court freed her from the custody of her parents.
Hadiya, 25, flew to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from Delhi and headed to Salem by road this evening to resume her studies as directed by the apex court. A Hindu by birth and named as Akhila Ashokan, she had converted to Islam several months before her marriage.
Hadiya, who was accompanied by the Kerala police, is due to undergo a 11-month internship in homeopathy at the Sivaraj Medical College in Salem, about 170 km from Coimbatore. She was not permitted to speak to the media at the airport in Coimbatore.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had given its direction yesterday after interacting with Hadiya even as she pleaded that she should be allowed to go with her husband Shafin Jahan.
Salem medical College Principal G Kannan said Hadiya will be treated as one of the inmates of the hostel and that no special treatment will be accorded to her. Hadiya will be registered under her Hindu name Akhila Ashokan in the college, he told reporters in Salem.
Hadiya was in the custody of her parents for almost six months after the Kerala High Court had on May 29 anulled her ‘nikah’ with Shafin Jahan. the apex court has appointed the dean of the college as Hadiya’s guardian and granted him liberty to approach it in case of any problem.
The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, had directed the college and the university to re-admit Hadiya and grant her hostel facilities. Deputy Commissioner of Police Subbbulakshmi, who held a meeting with college authorities in Salem, told reporters that adequate protection will be given to the woman.
During the court hearing, Hadiya said she wanted to go with her husband and that he will take care of her education expenses. Hadiya’s father welcomed the apex court decision allowing her to continue her studies and said he did not want a terrorist in the family.
Hadiya, K M Ashokan said, wanted to go to Syria after converting to Islam but had no idea about what it entailed. “Hadiya does not have any idea about Syria, where she wanted to go after converting to Islam,” he said, adding “I cannot have a terrorist in the family.”
Ashokan said he was sad that his daughter had to undergo all the unpleasant experiences because of which her studies were interrupted.
“But now I am happy as the court has allowed her to study further,” Ashokan told reporters in Delhi. He denied allegations that she had been kept under house arrest and added, “She was fully surrounded by police inside and outside the house.”
Ashokan said he was not worried about her security in Salem as she was now under the protection and observation of the apex court.
“I accept the Supreme Court’s decision. She is under the protection of the Supreme Court as it is monitoring the case and so I am not worried about her security,” he said. He also said he would go to Salem and meet her as and when necessary as the court had allowed him to do so.
“The court has not given anyone guardianship, including Shafin Jahan, of my child,” Ashokan said, adding that only close relatives like him were allowed by the court. The apex court, which yesterday interacted with Hadiya for nearly half-an-hour in the courtroom against the wishes of her father who had sought an in-camera interaction, had directed the Kerala police to provide her security and ensure that she travels at the earliest to Salem to pursue her homeopathy studies.
