Madhya Pradesh: Husband, in-laws sent to jail in triple talaq case in Petlawad

Petlawad (Madhya Pradesh): husband and the in-laws were sentenced to a jail term by a local court on Thursday for attempting to divorce his wife through "triple talaq" on July 17, 2022.

As per the complaint, Rukhsar, a resident of Bamniya village in Petlawad tehsil of Jhabua district, approached Petlawad Police Station with a complaint, after being “divorced”. Following which, she filed a first information report (FIR) against her husband Hameed Raza Qureshi, father-in-law Usman Qureshi and mother-in-law Zarina Qureshi for adopting the illegal “triple talaq” method of divorce. The charges brought against them were under relevant sections of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, and IPC sections 498-A (for domestic violence) 323 (for voluntarily causing hurt) and 294.

Public Prosecution Officer Pyarelal Chohan presented arguments and citing the provision of the new Muslim Law 2019, Judge Ruchi Pateria Arora sent all the three accused to jail. The victim said that she is greatly relieved by the decision of the court, as the act protect the rights of married women by prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands. 

Triple Talaq’ was a custom by which a Muslim husband could instantly and irrevocably divorce his wife by uttering the phrase thrice in one sitting. The said practice was banned by Parliament in July 2019. Any attempt to reinforce it now attracts a jail term of three years and a fine.