Bhopal: A family court in Madhya Pradesh has declared triple talaq uttered by a Muslim man to divorce his wife as void on the grounds that the process followed was not in tune with sharia, the Islamic legal and moral code.
The court in Ujjain delivered the judgment on March 9 while disposing of a petition filed by the victim, Arshi Khan, challenging the divorce given to her by her husband Tousif Sheikh through the triple talaq method.
“The court struck down the triple talaq on the ground that the man did not follow sharia while divorcing his wife,” petitioner’s counsel Arvind Gaud told reporters on Sunday.
According to him, the couple married on January 19, 2013. But, their marriage life came under strain when she was subjected to harassment by his spouse for dowry.
Later, Arshi filed a dowry torture case against her husband. Tousif however verbally divorced her by uttering triple talaq inside the Ujjain court premises on October 9, 2014.
Later, he sent a divorce notice to her. Arshi however challenged the divorce in the court saying it was not done as per sharia that guides Muslim marriage and talaq.
While setting aside the triple talaq, the court in its order said it has not been mentioned by Tousif which method, Talaq Ahsan or Talaq Hasan, he had adopted to divorce his wife.
Besides, there was no evidence to establish that the woman was present when he uttered triple talaq, which is mandatory under law. The court also observed that no reconciliation initiative was taken by the either party.
The development assumes significance considering that a number of petitions relating to the matter were pending before SC for disposal.
