Days after a 29-year-old Muslim couple got remarried under the Special Marriage Act to ensure that their property and assets would transfer to their three daughters, the Kerala police intensified surveillance around their house. Kerala police said on Thursday that they had increased monitoring around this residence.
This is after the couple identified as advocate-actor C Shukkur and Dr Sheena received threats for remarrying under the Special Marriage Act. “The vigil has been stepped in the area of C Shukkur’s house in Kanhangad here in the wake of news reports on threats by some outfits against the man and his family,” the police was quoted as saying.
Also, Darul Huda Islamic University condemned the marriage and issued a fatwa against the couple calling it a drama. “The marriage registration of advocate C Shukkur and his wife Dr Sheena Shukkur under the Special Marriage Act is a drama aimed at mocking religious personal law,” said the Council for Fatwa and Research, Darul Huda Islamic University.
“There is no law against handing over all their wealth to children when they are alive. Personal law matters only for inheritance. Those who believe in God and accept his wholeness will have no qualms about it. They will not have the obstinate greed that their wealth must go to their children,” it added.
On March 8, citing the occasion of International Women’s Day, Dr Sheena, the former pro-vice chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, and eminent attorney and actor C Shukkur, who is well known for his portrayal as a lawyer in the Kunchacko Boban film Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Sue Me Then), who had been married for 29 years reaffirmed their vows under the Special Marriage Act in order to ensure that their property and assets would transfer to their three daughters.
Due to the fact that their previous union was governed by Sharia law, which is Muslim Personal Law, their daughters would have only received two-thirds of their father’s estate, with the remaining portion going to Shukkur’s brothers, in the absence of an heir.
The couple remarried under the Special Marriage Act, which stipulates that the Indian Succession Act would control the succession of property of any person solemnized under it, in order to ensure that their property passes on to their children.
Shukkur said that he had previously experienced two near-death encounters, which caused him to reflect on his daughters’ future and whether or not they would receive all of his assets.
The Police said that the vigil has been strengthened around the residence of the couple as their marrige has been extensively reported by the media. “As of now, there is nothing like personal protection. There is no full-time security to the family or the house. The media has extensively reported about the remarriage incident in the last two days. Today, some newspapers have carried reports about an alleged fatwa issued by certain religious institutions against the family,” it said.
“Though the state police have no first-hand information regarding the threat, a decision has been taken to intensify the surveillance in the area based on media reports, the officer added,” the Police added.
