indica News Bureau-
In one of the early cases under the new law introduced by the Narendra Modi administration making triple talaaq a criminal offence in India, a woman in Madhya Pradesh state’s Indore city has lodged a complaint against her California-based NRI husband, IANS reported.
In her first information report filed at the Lasudia police station, Saleena Khan accused her husband Zeeshan Fazal of divorcing her by the simple and now criminal expedient of pronouncing talaaq, or divorce, three times on the phone. She said he did this after she failed to meet his dowry demands.
Saleena Khan and Zeeshan Fazal were married in August last year. But soon after he started demanding an Audi car and Rs50 lakh as dowry, Khan said in her police complaint.
Khan last visited her husband in California around two months ago, but the two had frequent fights and even underwent counseling once. She returned to Indore recently after which Fazal allegedly called her and divorced her on the phone.
“A case has been registered under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 against the woman’s husband and her in-laws,” Santosh Dudi, station house officer at Lasudia police station, told IANS. “Section 498A [of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with marital harassment] has also been invoked over harassment for dowry. Action will be taken against the accused.”
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 makes instant talaaq a cognizable criminal offence punishable with a jail term of up to three years and a fine. A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest a suspect without warrant and bail can only be given by a court.
