Police have registered a case against a Kasaragod native for executing Muthalaq (Triple Talaq) via WhatsApp. The case has been initiated based on the complaint of a 21-year-old woman from Kallooravi, Kasaragod, against Abdul Razak, a native of Nellikkatta, also in Kasaragod district. The woman complained that Razak used to beat her, demanding more dowry.
Abdul Razak, who works abroad, sent the Muthalaq (Triple Talaq) WhatsApp message to the phone of the woman’s father. Immediately, her family lodged a complaint at Hosdurg police station, Kasaragod. The case has been registered under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. Another case has been registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, with Razak’s mother and sister as the accused. The WhatsApp Muthalaq was executed on 21 February. The woman has also filed another complaint regarding domestic violence.
The couple got in touch with each other through Instagram and gradually fell in love. Subsequently, both families were informed, and their marriage was arranged. They got married on 11 August. It is reported that the husband’s family demanded 400 grams of gold as dowry, but the woman’s poor family could only provide 160 grams. The woman reportedly complained that the husband’s family continued to torment her over this ‘dowry gold’.
There are unconfirmed reports that this is the first Triple Talaq case in Kerala since Parliament passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act. The incident is an eye-opener for the authorities. There are still people who prefer Sharia law over the law passed by the country’s Parliament.
Talaq-e-Biddat or Triple Talaq is a form of divorce that was practiced in the Islamic community, whereby a Muslim man could divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq three times.
However, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 declares the instant divorce granted by pronouncement of talaq three times as void and illegal. It provides for imprisonment for a term up to 3 years and fine to the husband who practiced instant Triple Talaq.
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