A Muslim girl named Jeenat in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district has appealed for police protection after she married a Hindu boy in the city’s Agastya Muni Ashram on January 12. Jeenat, who has now changed her name to Jyoti and adopted the Hindu religion, said that this interfaith marriage was not forced on her.
According to the reports, the Muslim girl named Jeenat, aged 21 years, got married to one Sachin Sharma in Bareily. A video of the girl has gone viral on social media in which she is saying that she was not forced to get married and she is of marriageable age. The girl says that she has married the person of her choice out of her own volition and appeals to the local police to not harass the friends or family members of Sachin over false complaints.
The girl has adopted the Hindu faith and has said that her new name is Jyoti.
बरेली की जीनत बनीं सचिन शर्मा की अर्धांगिनी.
— Rahul Pandey (Journalist) (@STVRahul) January 13, 2022
अब उनका नाम ज्योति है.@bareillypolice से माँगी अपने परिवार से अपनी व अपने पति शर्मा जी सुरक्षा.
खुद को बताया बालिग.
अगत्स्य मुनि के आश्रम में बंधें पवित्र बंधन में.@Uppolice @dgpup @dmbareilly @adgzonebareilly @igrangebareilly pic.twitter.com/0jzoTJkCcE
The family of the girl has meanwhile lodged a complaint against Sachin Sharma accusing him of ‘kidnapping’ the girl. The city police are said to have considered the case as the matter is of interfaith marriage. “Jeenat has proved her legal marriage age. We are investigating the issue as her mother has lodged an official complaint”, said Inspector Rajeev Kumar Singh, as per reports.
Reports further suggest that the girl has stated to police that she is of legal marriageable age and the marriage has been performed as per her own choice. The members of Hindu organisations in the city also attended the marriage ceremony at the Agastya Muni Ashram and protected the couple during the wedding. At the Agastya Muni Ashram, Sachin and Jyoti were married as per Hindu customs and rituals.
It is pertinent to note that a High Court in Haryana, Punjab had ruled that a Muslim girl on attaining puberty is at liberty to marry anyone she likes and the guardian has no right to interfere. The Court while hearing the protection plea of a 17-year-old Muslim girl who married a Hindu boy willfully, had said that ‘marriage of a Muslim girl is governed by the Muslim Personal Law and that she can enter into a marriage of her choice’.
