Ujjain (MP): A family court in Ujjain has "nullified" the triple talaq given by a man to his wife on the grounds that due procedure, as prescribed in Muslim religious texts, was not followed in the matter.
Additional principal judge of the family court, Omprakash Sharma on March 9 observed that the procedure adopted by Tousif Sheikh to divorce his wife was "illegal" and "ineffective" and nullified the same.
Arshi Khan got married to Tousif from Dewas on January 19, 2013 and after some time he (Tousif) started demanding money from her. When his demands were not fulfilled, he started troubling her, the victim's lawyer Arvind Gaud said.
After some time the woman left her husband's place and returned to her parents' home. She later filed a case under the Anti-Dowry Act against Tousif, said Gaud.
That case is still pending in the court, he said.
Meanwhile, on October 9, 2014, Tousif verbally divorced Arshi by stating talaq in Ujjain court premises, where they had come in connection with some other case.
Later, he informed her through a notice that he had divorced her by stating talaq thrice while coming out of the court premises on that date.
Arshi challenged divorce on the grounds that due procedure as prescribed in the Muslim religious text was not followed in the matter, Gaud said.
The court in its order found discrepancies in it and said that Tousif had failed to mention in his reply that through which method 'Talaq Ahsan or Talaq Hasan' he had divorced his wife.
The judge said that he failed to give credible evidence of the presence of Arshi in the court premises as mentioned by him when he had pronounced talaq thrice, while as per the religious law, the presence of the woman in question is mandatory.
The court also observed that no steps were taken by the parties concerned for any mediation on the issue as per religious law.
The court took into account various decisions given by other courts on the issue before declaring the talaq as "illegal", "ineffective" and "nullified" it.
Tousif raised the issue of jurisdiction of the family court on the matter but the judge turned down his plea.
A statement issued by Gaud and his assistant Hafiz Qureshi said they highlighted provisions mentioned in various Muslim religious texts on the issue to convince the court that due procedures were not followed in the matter.
