Triple talaq: Court grants bail to man
HC has directed him to report to the investigating officer each Saturday.
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday granted anticipatory-bail to Vasai resident Intekhab Alam Munshi who was facing arrest after his wife had registered FIR against him claiming that he divorced her against the ordinance that banned triple talaq.
Munshi had approached the high court after the trial court in Palghar district on November 21 rejected his pre-arrest bail application on the ground that the investigating officer needed applicant’s custody to verify if this is a case of instant triple talaq.
Justice Prakash Deu Naik while granting pre-arrest bail to Munshi held that it was not for the court to decide at the stage of anticipatory bail proceedings whether Munshi’s divorce proceedings amounted to triple talaq.
Justice Naik observed that this is a case of matrimonial dispute and the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not required as most of the probe at this stage depends on documental facts.
While granting bail to Munshi on PR bond of Rs 15,000, HC has directed him to report to the investigating officer each Saturday for two hours for the next two months.
Following this complaint, the police have also registered a case against the lawyer and two witnesses who signed the notice and the lawyer recently secured anticipatory bail from the court.
The Union Cabinet in September had approved an ordinance to ban the practice of instant triple talaq also known as ‘Talaq-e-Biddat’.
According to the complaint, the lady on September 22, this year received a notice of Talaq (divorce). It was mentioned in the notice that two notices were already served to her and hence this is ‘Talaq-e-Ahsan’ which is legal. However, according to the complaint filed, she didn’t receive any notice before and hence it was Talaq-e-Biddat that is prohibited as per the law and is in breach of the provision of the ordinance.
According to Munshi’s lawyer Vincent Dsilva, appropriate procedure was followed in giving divorce but the lady accepted the third notice and filed complaint on the basis of it.