Hadiya alias Akhila Asokan, the 25-year-old woman who was freed from the custody of her parents by the Supreme Court on Monday, can meet her husband Shafin Jahan at the Salem college where she was allowed to return to complete her homoeopathy internship.
An NIA official said the SC order did not bar Mr. Jahan from meeting Ms. Hadiya, and he could meet her at the college hostel.
On Tuesday, Ms. Hadiya told reporters in Delhi, “I have not been able to speak to my husband yet. I hope I can do so in Salem.”
Ms. Hadiya’s father K.M. Asokan was quoted by PTI as saying that he welcomed the Supreme Court decision allowing his daughter to continue her studies but “did not want a terrorist in the family.” “The court has not given anyone guardianship, including Shafin Jahan, of my child,” Mr. Asokan was quoted by PTI. He Said that only close relatives like him were allowed to meet his daughter.
Ms. Hadiya had told the SC on Monday that she was kept in “unlawful custody” for 11 months.
The apex court had directed the Kerala police to provide her security and ensure that she travels at the earliest to Salem to pursue her homoeopathy studies at the Sivaraj Medical College.
Ms. Hadiya’s parents had moved the Kerala High Court in 2016 alleging that she was radicalised, forced to convert to Islam and forcibly married to a Muslim man. The High Court annulled the marriage and Ms. Akhila’s husband Shafin Jahan moved the Supreme Court, which asked the NIA to investigate the ‘love jihad’ case.
Asked by the SC Bench to name any nearest relative or acquaintance at Salem to be named as the local guardian, Ms. Hadiya said she only needed her husband in that role.
She said her husband can take care of her expenses for her studies and she does not need state funding to pursue her professional course.
