Despite ban, justice for talaq victims yet so far

Hyderabad: Though the Supreme Court has banned ‘Triple Talaq’, justice eludes women whose husbands had pronounced ‘talaq’ through WhatsApp and postal letters. Talaq cases of several women had grabbed public attention in February 2017, with the police registering cases against in-laws and husbands of ‘instant talaq’ victims.

In many cases, police arrested the in-laws on charges of dowry harassment and in a few, the latter managed to obtain anticipatory bail from courts. As the husbands of the victims in such cases are usually abroad, the police is not able to arrest them.

Women activists say that the police issue a Look out Circular (LoC) in all the airports, seaports and other legal entry points and wait for the accused (the husband of victim) to return. In many cases, the men work in the Gulf or European countries, and return only after a compromise is reached between victim and in-laws.

“Husbands are the main accused in all the cases and they evade arrest. The very intention of the women approaching the police or rather the government for help is defeated as the men stay happily abroad while victims get depressed,” points out Jameela Nishath, a women activist. At least five cases were reported in February and March 2017 that shocked the nation. 

In many cases, talaq was pronounced through WhatsApp, audio message and as postal messages. In all the cases, women had approached the police who promptly registered a case. While these cases were widely highlighted, several other cases did not make into news.  Inspector, women police station (South), G. Laxmi Madhavi, said in many of the cases, the husbands stays abroad and divorce their wives. 

“Although cases are being heard in courts, the husband, who is the main culprits, remains absconding. As a practice, we inform the accused over phone about the case and ask him to return. If he fails, then through our higher-ups, we issue a LoC,” Madhavi said.

Getting the men extradited from any country is a big task as several state and Union government agencies are yet to be involved. “To avoid the long procedure, the police just issues an LoC to all airports and wait,” Mohd Ishaq, a noted lawyer, said.

Case 1: Talaqs which shook the entire nation
In February, two cases were registered at Mirchowk and Moghalpura police stations, following complaint from two women who were given instant talaq. The police registered a case against two NRI brothers Usman Qureshi and Syed Fayazuddin. The police had arrested the parents of the two men after the women staged a sit in at their in-laws’ house demanding justice. The case took the nation by storm as talaq was pronounced through WhatsApp and later through a postal letter.

Case 2: Woman duped, divorced on whatsapp
Dabeerpura police had registered a case against one Mohammed Manaziruddin who reportedly duped a 24-year-old woman from Noor Khan Bazaar. The police issued an LoC against Manaziruddin who reportedly stays in the US. The woman was lured with an assurance of a good living in the US and later divorced through WhatsApp and the same was informed to the family through a postal letter. The family members had obtained an anticipatory bail while Manaziruddin still stays in the US.