'Saddened & Dismayed', Kerala High Court On Media Reports In Habeas Corpus Case Suggesting Woman & Child Were In Custody Of Extremist Bodies

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday expressed its disappointment with the media reports which stated that a woman and her child were in the custody of extremist bodies, after the Court had issued a notice on a Habeas Corpus plea of woman's husband. The Husband had, in his habeas corpus petition, alleged that his wife and son were forcefully converted to Islam and illegally detained upon finding that the woman had converted on her free will. Thereafter, the Court had issued notice, which the Court noted that it usually does in petitions seeking a writ of habeas corpus; unless there are very compelling circumstances, however, the Court added, "The moment we issued the notice…there appeared columns in the media with an innuendo that the mother and child are in the custody of extremist bodies" "We are saddened and dismayed because such outbursts, without verifying the ground realities, only results in polarization of communities, which civil society can ill-afford," the Court further observe. Observing thus, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A on Wednesday dismissed a plea by the man."Converted To Islam On Free Will": Kerala High Court Dismisses Habeas Plea By "Husband" Alleging Forced Conversion And Illegal Detention Of Wife And SonDuring the course of the hearing, the Bench conversed with the woman in the absence of the authorities, wherein she admitted that she converted to Islam on her own will and that there was no coercion from anyone. When asked if she had any apprehensions to be shared with the Court, the mother responded that the son's studies were being interrupted due to frequent interference by outsiders and even the media. The Court observed that upon issuance of notice by the court, there were several columns in the media with innuendo that the mother and child are in the custody of extremist bodies. Commenting on this, the Court states as follows: "We are saddened and dismayed because such outbursts, without verifying the ground realities, only result in polarization of communities, which civil society can ill-afford. We, hence, direct the jurisdictional Police that if a complaint is raised by the subject-lady before the Police of any harassment, the Police shall take immediate action to ensure that the mother and son are allowed to live their life without undue interference and harassment." Therefore, the Division Bench negated the petitioner's attempt to imply that the mother and son were in the custody of an extremist body. The writ petition was accordingly disposed of.Case Title: Gilbert P.T v. State of Kerala & Ors Click Here To Download Judgment

'Saddened & Dismayed', Kerala High Court On Media Reports In Habeas Corpus Case Suggesting Woman & Child Were In Custody Of Extremist Bodies

Sparsh Upadhyay

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