Pregnant woman in UP given triple talaq by husband hours after SC verdict

Hours after the Supreme Court verdict, a woman in UP was given triple talaq by her husband.

Lucknow, August 25: While the nation celebrated the landmark Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq on Tuesday, hours later a pregnant woman in Sardhana area of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly divorced by her husband by saying the three words--talaq, talaq, talaq (divorce).

The five-bench judge of the apex court struck down the practice of instant triple talaq by a 3-2 verdict, as majority of the judges found the centuries-old practice among the Indian Muslims as unconstitutional, manifestly arbitrary and void in law.

However, the minority judgment concluded that "talaq-e-biddat" was a matter of personal law of Muslims that does not breach the Constitution's Article 25 (right to practice one's religion).

Afterwards, the distraught woman approached the police to get justice. The woman, a resident of Mohalla Kamra Nawaban, in a complaint filed with the police alleged that her husband beat her up for dowry and drove her out of their house.

Based on the woman's complaint, the police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the man. The police said the talaq was "invalid" according to the ruling of the apex court.

The woman, who married the accused six years ago and is a mother of three, also alleged that she suffered a miscarriage due to the beating, the police said.

Reacting to the incident, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) said the case posed a question as to what punishment will be given to those who continue to indulge in the practice.

The woman's family members on Tuesday met her in-laws to discuss the matter. But her husband divorced her by pronouncing the word talaq thrice, the police said. She said her family told her husband that the Supreme Court had struck down the practice, but he did not relent.

A police official said an FIR has been registered against the woman's husband and six others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Dowry Prohibition Act.

AIMWPLB president Shaista Amber told PTI that it was a case of contempt of the apex court and that the board would approach the top court for fixing punishment in such cases.

She said the Supreme Court had asked for framing of a legislation on triple talaq but the government was "trying to shirk its responsibility by saying that it was not required after the verdict".

"It has to be ensured that the issue of triple talaq is fully addressed else Muslim women will continue to face injustice," the AIMWPLB president said.

"The court and the government need to clarify their stand or we will be forced to take to the streets," she said.

OneIndia News