CONVERSION A MUST FOR A NON-MUSLIM TO MARRY A MUSLIM: HC

In a judgment of far-reaching implications, the Allahabad High Court, on May 11, ruled that a non-Muslim girl must convert to Islam to marry a Muslim – failing which her marriage with a Muslim man would be void as it contradicts Islamic dicta and tenets of the holy Quran. The ruling, by a division bench comprising Justices Vinod Prasad and Rajesh Chandra, came on a writ petition filed by Dilbar Habib Siddiqui. Siddiqui had sought quashing of an FIR registered against him on March 17 under sections 323, 366 and 363 of IPC. He pleaded the court not to interfere in his peaceful matrimonial life with Khushboo Jaiswal. The judges directed a speedy probe into his marriage and ordered the cops to separate Khushboo Jaiswal, who was lodged in Nari Niketan, and hand her over to her parents. “Khushboo Jaiswal never converted and embraced Islam and therefore her marital tie with the petitioner, Dilbar Habib Siddiqui, is a void marriage since it is contrary to Islamic dicta and tenets of the Holy Quran,” the court ruled.