Marriage with step-mother: panchayat boycotts couple

Muzaffarnagar, Jun 13 (UNI) A youth and his half-mother, whom he had married much to the dismay of his family and the community, have been socially boycotted by a panchayat here today.

Haseem -- a resident of Gangeru village in Kandhla area -- had married his cousin's widow, mother of eight, Ruksana (42). The man already had six children with his first better half.

Due to financial crises, Hassem had migrated to Meerut to fetch a job. In his absence, Shaukeen and Ruksana fell in love and recently tied a knot at a Haryana court after eloping from the village.

On being informed, when Haseem reached his residence and protested, he was beaten black and blue by his son.

Later, one of Haseem's son had registered a case under section 307 of IPC.

Declaring the matrimony of son with his step-mother as against the principles of Islam and 'shariyat,' the panchayat prohibited their entry in the village.

On June 11, Muslim clerics had also declared their marriage as ''null and void.'' They had said such relationships will be treated as ''rape'' and the culprits will be punished as per Islamic law.

In the ruling, Mufti of Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Maulana Ahsan Qasmi had stated the marriage was illegal and ruled that such relations would be treated as ''rape'' according to 'Shariah.' He had asked the couple to immediately break the relationship to avoid harsh punishment.

Shariah court president Maulana Mohammad Irfan declined to accept their bond, saying Islam prohibits such marriages.

UNI