First triple talaq arrest in Kerala
The woman had expressed her willingness for divorce and the issue was settled earlier, he said.
KOZHIKODE: A Muslim husband who pronounced triple talaq and divorced his wife was arrested here on Friday.
The accused, Chullikkapparamb E.K. Usam, 32, son of Unnikkoya, Kandathil house, is the first person in the state to be arrested under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act making triple talaq illegal. The Supreme Court had also declared the practice unconstitutional in 2017.
The Mukkam police arrested him based on a petition filed by the woman and the order of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court (JFCM), Thamarassery issued under the Act. The Mukkam police and the SP, Kozhikode rural, had earlier refused to act on her petition.
She complained that Usam divorced her by saying talaq thrice on August 1 due to domestic issues. Usam who married her in 2011 also has another wife, she alleged. He and his mother also persecuted her causing much mental agony, said the woman.
The court granted Usam conditional bail. He claimed that he did not pronounce triple talaq. The woman had expressed her willingness for divorce and the issue was settled earlier, he said.
V.P. Suhra, founder of NISA, one of the organisations that moved the Supreme Court against triple talaq, told DC that not only fresh cases, but also the existing ones in courts, could be brought under the Act.