'Why sensationalise?': SC on plea to expunge remarks made in 'love jihad' case by Bareilly court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily upon a man for making an attempt to "sensationalise" observations made by a Bareilly court, purportedly against the Muslim community, in a case related to 'love jihad'.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti sought to know the locus standi of the petitioner Anas in the matter, while making it clear that observations made on the basis of evidence can't be expunged in a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.

"Who are you and how are you concerned with the matter?," the bench asked the petitioner.

"You are sensationalising this and it is not correct. You are just a busy body and have no locus. If there are some observations made on the basis of evidence...can we expunge this?," the bench asked.

The bench also asked if the court can really entertain a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution.

The court finally asked the counsel if he was ready to withdraw the petition or it would dismiss the plea.

During the hearing, the bench wondered that if a particular conclusion is warranted from evidence presented before court and said conclusion is record, should it be expunged in an independent matter such as this.

In October, 2024, the fast track court in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh made certain observations on the Muslim community, while describing the term ‘love jihad’, during sentencing a Muslim man to his ‘entire life’ in jail, even though the woman reportedly retracted from her statement.

The case of rape and other offences were lodged on her statement that she met the accused in a coaching centre and he introduced himself as Anand Kumar but after the marriage, it turned out that he was a Muslim named as Aalim.

In his judgment, the judge said, "The primary aim of ‘love jihad' is to alter demographics and stir international tensions, driven by radical factions within a religious group. Essentially, it refers to the deceptive conversion of non-Muslim women to Islam through fraudulent marriages.”

The judge had said these illegal conversions are carried out by certain extremist individuals who either engage in or support such activities. However, it is important to note that these actions are not reflective of the entire religious community.

"The process of ‘love jihad' involves significant financial resources, and in this case, it is likely that foreign funding is involved,” he wrote.