Dismayed By Media Studies That Lady, Little one Had been In Custody Of Extremist Our bodies: Kerala HC

The Kerala Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed disappointment with media reports that a woman and her child are in the care of extremist bodies after the court released a notice of a habeas corpus plea by the woman’s husband.

The husband alleged in his habeas corpus petition that his wife and son had forcibly converted to Islam and were illegally detained after discovering that the woman had converted of her own free will.

Thereafter, the court issued a notice which, according to the court, is normally the case for petitions seeking habeas corpus proceedings; Unless there are very imperative circumstances, however, the Court added,

“At the moment we published the announcement … columns appeared in the media with the allusion that mother and child are in the care of extremist bodies.”

“We are sad and dismayed because such outbreaks, without checking the reality on the ground, only lead to a polarization of the communities that civil society cannot afford,” the Court added.

Against this background, a division of the Kerala Supreme Court, consisting of Judge K Vinod Chandran and Judge Ziyad Rahman AA, rejected the man’s plea on Wednesday.

“Converted to Islam of will”: Kerala Supreme Court rejects habeas plea by “husband” alleging forced conversion and illegal imprisonment of wife and son

During the hearing, the bank spoke to the woman in the absence of the authorities, admitting that she had voluntarily converted to Islam and had not been coerced by anybody.

When asked if she had any fears to report to the court, the mother replied that her son’s studies would be interrupted due to frequent interference from outsiders and even the media.

The Court found that following the notification by the court, there were several columns in the media suggesting that the mother and child were in the care of extremist bodies.

The court stated as follows:

“We are sad and dismayed because such outbursts, without checking the realities on the ground, only lead to a polarization of the communities that civil society cannot afford. We therefore instruct the responsible police that, if a complaint is made by the lady concerned, before any harassment by the police, the police immediately take measures to ensure that mother and son can live their lives without undue interference and harassment. ”

As a result, the Bench division rejected the petitioner’s attempt to suggest that the mother and son were in the care of an extremist body. The pleading was complied with accordingly.

Case Title: Gilbert PT v Kerala State & Ors

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