Just Because Boy & Girl Are From Different Religions, It’s Not Necessarily Love Jihad: HC

Mumbai: In a significant ruling, Bombay High Court said that merely because a boy and a girl who are in a relationship are from different religions, it cannot be given the colour of ‘love jihad’.

A two-judge bench of the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court granted pre-arrest bail to a Muslim woman and three of her family members who were accused of forcing a man to convert to Islam and marry her.

A local court had denied relief to the accused, but the high court set aside that order.

The complainant had told the court that he was in a relationship with a Muslim woman, also a student, but the girl, her parents and sister insisted that he should convert to Islam.

The man, from Scheduled Caste community, also alleged that they performed circumcision on him using force.

“Everything has been done under pressure and by applying physical force. Even a huge amount (of money) has been extracted forcibly from me, which amounts to extortion,” the man said.

Opposing pre-arrest bail applications of the accused, the man’s lawyer argued that it was a case of ‘love jihad’.

The bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Abhay Waghwase refused to accept the allegation, saying that the man had admitted in the FIR that he was in a relationship with the woman, and had many opportunities to end the relationship, but did not.

“It appears that now the colour of love jihad has been tried to be given, but when love is accepted, then there is less possibility of the person being trapped just for converting him into the other’s religion.. Merely because the boy and girl are from different religions, it cannot have a religious angle. It can be a case of pure love for each other,” the bench stated.

In its order, the high court noted that the woman had also registered a number of cases against the complainant, some of which before the case that the man registered. The probe in the case was almost over and hence custody of the accused persons won’t be necessary, the two judges said.

The two had been in a relationship since March 2018, but the man didn’t disclose he was from SC community.