I asked for freedom, not free yet: Hadiya after rejoining TN college

Salem: “I wanted freedom from court, but I am not free to meet my husband,” said Hadiya on Wednesday, a day after she rejoined a medical college in Salem district of Tamil Nadu on the directions of the Supreme Court.

"I asked for freedom from court. I wanted to meet my husband but the fact is that I’m not free till now and that’s the truth," Hadiya told media at Salem.

"I am demanding basic rights that every Indian citizen has. It has nothing to do with politics or caste. All I want is to talk to people I like," said Hadiya, whose parents have told the apex court that she was brainwashed and forced into converting to Islam by Jahan, who wanted to recruit her for ISIS. 

The Supreme Court, hearing the alleged love jihad case in Kerala, on Monday directed that Hadiya will no longer stay behind the closed doors of her parents' house and will resume her medical course at Sivaraj Homoeopathic Medical College in Salem.

Speaking to media on Wednesday, the 25-year-old woman from Kerala said the college was "going to be another prison", according to a report in NDTV.

She expressed disappointment over not having the freedom to meet her husband, Shafin Jahan. Although the Supreme Court had not issued any orders on her meeting with Jahan, college principal had on Tuesday said Hadiya would be allowed "to meet anyone, including her husband, with my permission".

Hadiya was readmitted to Sivaraj Homoeopathic Medical College in Salem on Tuesday evening, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, which had also appointed the dean of the college as her local guardian.

Principal of the Sivaraj Homeopathy Medical College, G Kannan, on Tuesday said Hadiya will be treated as one of the inmates of the hostel and that no special treatment will be accorded to her.

"Hadiya will be registered under her Hindu name Akhila Ashokan in the college," the principal added.

Hadiya had joined Sivaraj Homoeopathic Medical College, but could not complete her studies as she was put under house arrest in May on the orders of the Kerala High Court.

Hadiya's parents had refused to accept her marriage to Shafin Jahan – a Muslim who returned to Kerala from the Middle East – claiming that he was a terrorist who wanted to take their daughter to Syria. 

In May, the Kerala High Court had declared their marriage as "null and void" and described the case as an instance of 'love jihad'. It ordered the state police to conduct probe into such cases. 

Jahan later challenged the high court’s order in the Supreme Court.

(With input form agencies)