AMN
The Supreme Court today refused to grant an urgent hearing on a plea filed by the father of a Kerala-based woman, who converted to Islam before marrying a Muslim man, that interaction with the woman be conducted in-camera.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y.Chandrachud said that it will deal with this plea on November 27 itself when the woman would be brought before it for interaction.
The apex court had on October 30 directed that the woman be produced before it on November 27 for an interaction in open court.
Asokan referred to the communally sensitive nature of the case and sought in-camera interaction on some grounds including that radical elements could jeopardise the safety and privacy of his daughter and the family.
The top court had on August 16 said it would speak to the woman in-camera before taking a final decision on the matter.
It has later modified the order saying “We may further add that this court shall speak to her not in camera but in open court.”
The apex court had earlier observed that the free consent of a major to marriage has to be ascertained amid an assertion by National Investigation Agency (NIA) that an indoctrinated person may be incapable of giving free consent to marriage.