In First, Gujarat High Court Quashes FIR Under 'Anti-Love Jihad Law'

In a first, the Gujarat High Court quashed an FIR filed by Gujarat Police against a Muslim man, his parents and a priest under the state's ‘anti-love jihad’ law after the husband and wife settled the matter "amicably" among themselves. 

Justice Justice Niral R. Mehta observed, "...this Court is of the considered view that further continuation of the criminal proceedings in relation to the impugned FIR would be nothing but unnecessary harassment to the parties and trial thereon would be futile and further continuation of the proceedings would amount to an abuse of process of law," reports Live Law.

According to the FIR, the woman alleged that her husband and his parents, and the priests who performed the matrimonial ceremony had forcibly converted her religion through marriage.

They were all booked under Sections 498A, 376(2) (n), 377, 312, 313, 504, 506(2), 323, 419, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 4, 4(A), 4(2)(A), 4(2)(B) and 5 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 and Sections 3(1)(r)(s), 3(2)(5), 3(2)(5-a), 3(1)(w)(1)(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities).

The woman and the accused further moved the High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed by the Gujarat Police and alleged that they had brought the Love-Jihad angle on its own and that it contained grossly incorrect and untrue facts, particularly regarding the all.

Importantly, the woman alleged that she had approached a local police station in Vadodara to report petty matrimonial discord, however, the cops, on their own, brought in the “love jihad” angle.

"Love Jihad" is a term coined by Hindu-right-wing groups that refers to the phenomenon where Muslim men allegedly lure Hindu women and force them to convert to Islam. Love jihad is a new addition to the existing Islamophobic conspiracy theory.