Kozhikode, August 16, 2019: A 43-year-old man of Kozhikode’s Mukkom village was arrested for allegedly divorcing his wife through instant triple talaq.
The suspect was arrested on August 15 by the Mukkom police following a warrant issued by the Thamarassery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.
The woman had approached the court with the support of two lawyers seeking justice for her under Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act.
This is the first such arrest recorded in Kerala after the Indian parliament passed the bill criminalizing the practice of instant triple talaq
Police said the suspect was identified as E K Usam of Kumaranallur village.
Police said they charged Usam under section 3 (Any pronouncement of talaq by a Muslim husband upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal) and 4 (Any Muslim husband who pronounces talaq referred to in section 3 upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine) of the Act.
The first arrest under the new act was registered in the national capital on August 9.
A 38-year-old man gave instant triple talaq to his wife, the first such case registered in the national capital since the practice was criminalized, police said.
The arrest was made after a 30-year-old woman complained against her husband in north Delhi’s Bara Hindu Rao police station. However, the man got a bail in the following day.
“On June 23, her husband pronounced talaq three times upon her and sent a fatwah on WhatsApp mentioning that triple talaq was pronounced,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Nupur Prasad.
Parliament on August 1 approved the bill that makes instant triple talaq a criminal offence.