New Delhi: A Christian woman who is in an interfaith relationship with a Muslim man has been asked to appear before the Kerala high court in connection with a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman’s father.The woman, Joisna Mary Joseph, is in a relationship with Shejin, a member of the DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M). While her parents have filed a police complaint, the couple has said they are in a consenting relationship.According to The News Minute, Joseph has been asked to appear before a division bench of the Kerala HC on April 19.Joseph, who is a nurse in Saudi Arabia, had come to Kerala to get married to a man chosen by her family. But she and Shejin decided to get married by exchanging garlands on April 9. On April 12, they submitted an application to get their marriage registered under the Special Marriages Act. They will have to wait for 30 days before the marriage can be registered.Joseph’s family has filed a missing person complaint, even as the couple has denied the family’s allegations.On April 12, Joseph and Shejin appeared before a court in Thamarassery, which allowed them to live together, according to The News Minute.Shejin clarified that the marriage is a natural culmination of their love affair and the controversy was ‘unnecessary.’Their relationship had snowballed into a major political controversy after a district CPI(M) leader accused Shejin of “love jihad”, the conspiracy theory which claims that Muslim women marry women of other faiths to convert them to Islam.A section of the Christian community in Thiruvambady, including nuns, staged demonstrations against the couple’s relationship.CPI(M) district secretariat member George M. Thomas supported the allegations of ‘love jihad’. After the party’s district leadership intervened, Thomas told the media that his words were “conveniently twisted” by communal forces to suit their version of inter-religious marriage as ‘love jihad’. However, the marriage has hurt the sentiments of the Christian community, the Left leader claimed.Denouncing Thomas’ remarks, P. Mohanan, CPI(M) Kozhikode district secretary, said on April 13 that his party has never referred to inter-religious marriages as ‘love jihad’.“Love Jihad is a term used by the RSS and Sangh forces to attack religious minorities. The CPI(M) has already made its stand clear on the topic. Marriage is the choice of individuals and the legal system of the country permits adults to get married according to their choice,” he said.He said Thomas’ controversial remark supporting the ‘love jihad’ charges should be seen as a slip of the tongue and the former MLA was also convinced of the mistake now.Mohanan also said the DYFI leader could have informed the party leadership about the marriage plan and avoided unwanted controversy.The CPI(M) district leadership is organising an explanation meeting at Kodencherry this evening as the controversy over the wedding refused to die down despite the couple denying ‘love jihad’ charges.(With PTI inputs)