Navi Mumbai:

A woman has accused her husband and in-laws of harassment over dowry demands and being divorced via triple talaq on a video call. A case has been filed under the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage Rights) Bill and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Mumbai police have registered a case against a man working in the United Kingdom (UK) and his parents for allegedly harassing his wife over dowry and divorcing her through triple talaq on a video call.

The victim, a resident of Seawoods, filed the complaint with NRI Sagar Police, leading to charges under various sections of the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage Rights) Bill and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Speaking to ANI, the victim alleges that her marriage to Aaqib Bhatiwala in 2022, conducted as per Muslim customs, initially appeared peaceful. However, after moving into her in-laws’ residence in Wadala, the harassment began. Matters worsened when she travelled to the UK with her husband and in-laws, where the abuse reportedly continued.

The victim claimed that following a domestic dispute, her husband confiscated her jewelry and sent her back to India, cutting off communication. Subsequently, she received a divorce through triple talaq during a video call. Even after returning to the UK, the victim claims she was denied entry to her husband’s home.

Based on her complaint, authorities have initiated an investigation into the matter. Triple Talaq is the process of divorce under Islamic law where a husband could divorce his wife by pronouncing ‘Talaq’ three times.

In August 2017, a 5 Judge SC bench held that the practice of Talaq-e-biddat or Triple Talaq was ‘manifestly arbitrary’ and unconstitutional. In 2019, Parliament enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 which made the practice of talaq-e-biddat a criminal act, punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

She was watching a video on Sambhal violence in Uttar Pradesh, where protests sparked by a survey into whether a centuries-old mosque was built on a Hindu temple had killed four people – when her husband asked her not to and then, as she claims, divorced her by uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times. She had praised the police action.

“Koi wajah hi toh nahi thi. Bina wajah ke talaq diya hai (There was no reason at all. He divorced me without a reason),” said Nida, who uses a single name.

The word ‘talaq’ means divorce in Arabic.

The controversial practice of ‘triple talaq’ that allows Muslim men to divorce their wives instantly by saying ‘talaq’ thrice was banned by the Supreme Court in 2017. The top court called it “unconstitutional”. In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government also approved a bill outlawing the centuries-old right of a Muslim man to instantly divorce his wife.

Nida, a native of Moradabad, has filed a police complaint against her husband, Ejazul, for divorcing her.

“I was watching a video because I had to visit Sambhal for a wedding. I also had some personal work. So I was checking if it was safe to go there. My husband asked me why I was watching the video. I said what is wrong is wrong. Everyone has the right to defend themselves,” said Nida, elaborating on what started the fight between the couple.

“Upon hearing this, he said you are not a Muslim; you are an infidel. You support police. He started misbehaving with me. He said I will not keep you anymore, no matter what you do and pronounced triple talaq. He then said he has nothing to do with me,” Nida, dressed in a black burqa, told reporters.

The couple was in the third year of their marriage. 

“A woman has filed a complaint against her husband that she was watching a YouTube video related to Sambhal, which led to a fight between the couple. The husband asked her not to watch the video and when she did not agree, he ended the marriage by saying talaq three times,” said Ranvijay Singh, Superintendent of City Police, Moradabad.

The situation had been tense in Sambhal since a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid was conducted on November 19 following orders from a court that came on a petition claiming that a Harihar temple existed at the site earlier.

Violence broke out on November 24 when the mosque was being surveyed again. Four people were killed and others injured in a clash between protesters and police. A total of 29 police personnel were injured in the incident, said the police.

(With inputs from Anwar Kamal)

Jaipur:

A 35-year-old Rajasthan man was detained from the airport here for giving triple talaq to his wife over the phone from Kuwait, where he worked, before allegedly marrying a Pakistani woman, police said on Wednesday.

They said Rehman met Mehwish, the Pakistani woman, on social media and married her in Saudi Arabia. She arrived in Churu last month on a tourist visa and is currently living with his parents, said the officials.

Hanumangarh Deputy SP (SC/ST Cell) Ranveer Singh said Farida Bano (29), a resident of Bhadra in Hanumangarh, filed an FIR against her husband Rehman last month, accusing him dowry harassment and divorcing her through triple talaq.

Rehman landed at the Jaipur airport from Kuwait on Monday and was detained there by a police team from Hanumangarh.

They took him to the police station. He was arrested the next day after preliminary questioning, Singh said.

He said Rehman and Farida Bano married in 2011 and are now parents to a son and a daughter.

Rehman went to Kuwait to earn a livelihood and was working there in the transport sector there.

DSP Singh said that after Mehwish came to Churu, Farida Bano, who has been living with her parents in Hanumangarh, filed a case against Rehman. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jhansi:

In a shocking incident, a man gave triple talaq to his wife on a moving train and then fled.

The incident occurred just before the Jhansi Junction on April 29 when Mohammad Arshad, 28, was travelling with his wife Afsana, 26.

As the train chugged into the Jhansi station, Arshad gave triple talaq to his wife and got off the train. He also beat his wife before fleeing.

Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Afsana contacted the Government Railway Police, which sent her back to Pukhrayan in Kanpur Dehat, from where she had boarded the train for Bhopal, earlier that day.

An FIR was finally lodged and a manhunt was launched for the accused.

Arshad, a computer engineer employed with a private firm in Bhopal, had married Afsana, a graduate hailing from Kota in Rajasthan, on January 12 this year.

The match was made through a matrimonial advertisement.

When the couple visited Arshad’s ancestral house in the Pukhrayan last week, Afsana was shocked to find that Arshad was already married.

When she confronted him, he and his mother began to harass her for dowry, according to the complaint.

This continued until Arshad finally pronounced the triple talaq and disappeared after abandoning her on the train.

In a video that has since gone viral, Afsana has appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help her and also take action against such people who divorce women and abandon them.

Circle Officer (CO) Priya Singh said that based on the woman’s complaint, a case has been registered against her husband Arshad, his maternal uncle Aqeel, father Nafeesul Hasan, and mother Parveen.

“The matter will be investigated, and action will be taken,” the CO added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)