Court allows Rajasthan’s ‘Hadiya’ to return to her husband

The Rajasthan high court ordered on Tuesday the release of 22-year-old Aarifa, earlier known as Payal Singhvi, from a government home and allowed her to go to her husband but said that probe into her conversion and marriage documents would continue.

The bench of justices Gopal Krishna Vyas and Manoj Kumar Garg said they would hear the merit of the conversion on the basis of the reply from the state government on Wednesday.

Last week, the high court had raised questions about the woman’s conversion to Islam and her interfaith marriage. The high court had asked the state government if there was any law or procedure in Rajasthan that governed religious conversions, and observed that people couldn’t change their religions based on an affidavit.

This case was a virtual re-run of a similar incident in Kerala. In May this year, the Kerala high court annulled the marriage of 24-year-old Hadiya, earlier known as Akhila, to Shafin Jehan after her father alleged that her conversion was part of a larger racket to recruit terrorist operatives. The Supreme Court has raised questions about the high court order and has summoned Hadiya, a doctor, on November 27.

Activists have repeatedly alleged that Hadiya was being tortured at her father’s home and that her fundamental right to religion was being violated.

The Rajasthan HC is hearing a petition filed by Chirag Singhvi, who alleges that his sister – Payal Singhvi– was converted to Islam under coercion and that her marriage papers are forged.

The court had raised doubts about Aarifa’s wedding to a Muslim man identified as Faiz Modi and said the documents she produced, including a nikahnama (Islamic marriage certificate), contradicted each other.