The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday ordered that a 27-year-old woman from Madurai, who had wilfully converted to Islam, be set at liberty.
After the woman, a BDS graduate, had wilfully converted to Islam, her parents, who were opposed to her decision, detained her at their house. The woman managed to escape and approached Tallakulam All Women Police Station for protection.
Meanwhile, her parents filed a complaint with Mathichiyam police station. The police sent the woman to a home, without her consent, said advocate T. Tamil Malar, in her habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of the woman. The advocate had met the woman to offer legal assistance.
In her petition, she pointed out that the Supreme Court, in the landmark Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M or the Hadiya case, had clearly stated that the Right to Faith was a fundamental right. She sought a direction to set her free.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and B. Pugalendhi ordered that she be set at liberty.
