The Kerala High Court on Tuesday allowed a Christian woman to live with her Muslim husband after she submitted in the court that she was not under any detention and she was not interested in speaking to her family at present. The high court also disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman's father.
Joisna Mary Joseph who married Shejin, a DYFI leader, later told media that she had decided to go with him out of her own free will and not under any compulsion.
The court told the woman's family that though it understands their concerns, their 26-year-old daughter is capable of making her own decisions.
"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.
The woman's father, Joseph, had moved the habeas corpus plea alleging that his daughter had been illegally detained and seeking directions to the police to produce her before him.
He had also told news channels that since the day his daughter left her home, she has not spoken to any of them and therefore, he believed that she was being restrained against speaking to them by the DYFI leader.
Joseph had also said that he lacked faith in the Kerala Police and wanted an agency from outside the state, like the CBI or NIA, to investigate what had happened.
Joisna, however, denied these charges and said she wanted to go with Shejin. "I married the person I loved. So I wanted to go with him. I liked him and started living with him. I told the court about my decision. It is a decision made by a person over 18 years of age. We will both talk to our parents. We will convince them," she told news agency ANI.
Shejin said though he is not religious he has no problem with her wife live as a Christian until her death. “I will not interfere in it. In my case, she did not interfere I hope. It will continue that way until death. Everyone should allow us to live in peace," he said.
The interfaith relationship stirred up a political storm after the woman's relatives alleged "love jihad", with a senior Left party leader supporting the charge, only to retract his statement later.