On Monday, March 27, a woman lodged a police complaint against her husband for allegedly giving Triple Talaq to her over a phone call in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. The complainant has alleged that her husband had demanded a Scorpio car and 20 lakh rupees as dowry. Later the woman was thrown out of the husband’s house, and he demanded Rs 10 lakh in order to keep her in his house. When the woman’s family refused this demand, the man called her wife and issued triple talaq on the phone.
Apart from the husband, 9 other people including a professor from the Aligarh Muslim University, have also been named in the complaint.
According to the media reports, the incident took place in the Kwarsi police station precinct. The victim was married to Khalid Hanif on January 27, 2013 in Kanpur’s Kidwai Nagar locality of Juhi Lal Colony. AMU’s Department of Computer Science Professor Saiful Islam, a brother-in-law of Hanif, served as a witness to this marriage.
The complaint claims that the wedding took place in a guest house and that the complainant’s father sent her off with expensive jewellery and other valuables. The woman claims that despite spending around Rs 35 lakh in the wedding, her in-laws demanded more dowry, including Rs 20 lakh in cash and a Mahindra Scorpio SUV. When her family refused to give them more dowry, they used to torture her. It is further alleged that AMU Professor Saiful was also involved in all this.
Furthermore, the complaint states that the victim’s brother-in-law Tariq and husband Hanif are alcoholics. She also accused her husband and his brother of gambling and betting. The complaint further states that the girl’s family members were also misled about Hanif prior to the marriage. Hanif’s family members had told the woman’s family that he works in a big company and they will live in Delhi after the marriage, which turned out to be false.
Hanif, the victim’s husband, purchased a residence in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi, in December 2014. Hanif had also borrowed Rs 10 lakh from his father-in-law, the victim’s father, for this. The woman claimed that Hanif never repaid even this loan to her father. They didn’t move to the flat, and it was given on rent.
In addition, the victim dubbed her brother-in-law Tariq a womanizer. Tariq had given triple talaq to his first wife Rashmi alias Fatima. Later, Tariq got married to another woman named Reena alias Aamna. The victim claims that her brother-in-law Tariq has also been keeping a bad eye on her. Tariq is accused of peeping at the woman as she had a bath and used the restroom.
The victim alleged that on September 1, 2022, at 10 pm, Tariq entered the victim’s room and proposed to her adding that he would divorce his second wife for her. When the victim who is also the mother of a 7-year-old son, refused, Tariq tore her clothes and threw her on the bed. However, when she told her husband and his family about this, they dismissed it saying that Tariq did it by mistake as he was drunk.
According to the complaint, whenever the woman complained about Tariq, she was beaten up, and her husband Hanif was involved in this torture. The woman eventually told her parents about the matter. Following this, a panchayat was called, where both families were present.
At this panchayat, the complainant’s in-laws assured them that she would soon be taken to Delhi. But on September 12, 2022, the in-laws sent her back to her maternal house. Also, they kept all her jewellery. After this, the victim’s in-laws stopped even asking about her whereabouts.
On February 12, 2023, another panchayat between the victim’s parents and her in-laws was conducted at Professor Saiful Islam’s home after numerous requests. The victim’s husband in this panchayat blatantly refused to keep her with him. Hanif demanded Rs 10 lakh from the victim’s father in order to keep her with him. The girl’s father was humiliated and ousted from the meeting after he refused to accept his demand.
The victim claims that on February 18, 2023, her husband Hanif gave her triple talaq via net calling on a mobile phone. On February 20, two days later, Hanif also sent a divorce notice through his lawyer. He sent the notice over WhatsApp also. Professor Saiful Islam of AMU, his wife Farin, husband Hanif, brother-in-law Tariq, Nisha, Aamna, Noori, Sadia, Aman, and Adil have all been named as accused in the case by the police.
The complaint copy that OpIndia obtained states that the police have taken action in this case in accordance with Sections 498-A, 323, 354, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Sections 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and Section 3/4 of the Triple Talaq Act.
Triple Talaq Law
It is notable that the central government has enacted the law against triple talaq in 2019 after the Supreme Court declared the regressive practice as unconstitutional in 2017. The law criminalizes the practice of triple talaq and prescribes punishment for up to 3 years. The woman is entitled to maintenance for her dependent children under the law.
