The Kerala High Court has passed an order in the "national interest". The court has ordered annulling of the marriage of a 24-year-old woman to a Muslim man.

The woman had embraced Islam and told the court that she got married and converted out of her own free will. But the court thought otherwise.

In a 100-page-long order, the court has further directed the DGP of the state to conduct a comprehensive investigation into cases of 'Love Jihad' and forced conversions.

The case pertains to Akhila, whose parents had moved the court after the girl had converted to Islam and stopped living or interacting with parents. The girl was also pursuing a degree in homeopathy medicine but later abandoned her studies. The court order notes that the girl came in touch with Islam through her room-mates in hostel and later one of the room-mate's father forcibly persuaded her to embrace Islam.

It's interesting to note what the court says on the intellectual ability of the woman with respect to her conversion to another faith and her subsequent marriage.

"Our interaction with the detenue when she was brought before us, gives us an impression that, she is only an ordinary girl of moderate intellectual capacity. She appeared to be repeating verses and quotations in Arabic that she has apparently memorised. According to the police, and the senior government pleader, she has been made to believe that she would go to hell if she did not accept Islam and is under such a belief. She also appears to be a gullible person."

The court has asked the DGP to have a detailed and quick investigation on the issue. The bench led by Justice K Surendra Mohan and Justice Abraham Mathew asked the DGP to enquire into the role of so-called NGOs which have been organising and facilitating such conversions. The court explicitly noted that an organised set up has been working and functioning behind the scenes as it also mentions an earlier case where a girl was similarly converted to Islam.

The court also disregarded the testimony of the girl that she married out of her own free will, calling it a "sham in the eyes of the law". The court terms the woman as a 'gullible person' who is incapable of taking 'independent and firm decisions'.

Also read:

Love jihad in Pakistan: Abducted Hindu girl sold by policeman for Rs 50,000

Love jihad? Hindus in Pakistan ask 'where should we go', protest forced conversions