The practice of triple talaq in the Muslim community in India was banned by the parliament over three years ago, but the now illegal practice still continues among the community. In a shocking development in this regard, two cases of triple talaq have been registered at the same police station in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Recently, two different women lodged complaints against their husbands for giving them triple talaq at the Vejalpur police station in the city, after which cases have been registered by the police. One case took place in the Juhupura area over dowry, while the other occurred in the Fatewadi area of the city over the demands of a male child.
Triple talaq case in Juhupura over dowry demand
One Ali Akbar Habibi and his family members were booked by the Vejalpur police for giving triple talaq to his wife through a video phone call. His wife Rumana Ali Akbar Habibi lodged a complaint in this regard. Ali Akbar Habibi, his mother Amina Banu, and his brother Ali Azgar were named in the complaint. Rumana accused them of mental and physical torture and demanding dowry. She also alleged that her husband has an affair with another woman.
The Habibi family had already taken a dowry of Rs 80 lakh after the wedding, but they demanded Rs 11 lakh more recently. As the woman’s family refused to pay more money, the husband video-called her and said talaq three times, divorcing her under the now-banned Islamic practice.
In 2007, the plaintiff married accused Ali Akbar Habibi who was then residing in Mumbai and running a business called FM Steel. After marriage, she gave birth to three girls and one boy. After the birth of the first female child, the complainant’s mother-in-law reportedly mocked and argued with her. She reported her mother-in-law’s actions to her husband, and he allegedly beat the complainant as a result.
Her mother-in-law allegedly started pressuring her to ask her father for money to pay for the children’s fees and other necessities after the birth of the second female kid. Her mother-in-law and brother-in-law also threatened to kick her out of the house if her third child also turns out to be a girl.
She did have a boy as her third child, though. Due to her brother-in-law’s marriage, her mother-in-law asked the complaint to borrow money from her father to purchase a new home. Moreover, her husband Ali Akbar reportedly gave intoxicating drugs to her after she opposed his relationship with another woman.
The Rs 80 lakh dowry paid by the woman’s family included 50 lakh rupees in cash for a home purchase and 30 lakh rupees for furnishings and kitchenware. The woman was also given gold ornaments of 75 tolas by her father at the time of the wedding. But her husband took those ornaments and used them as collateral to borrow money to run his business. While he had promised that he will bring back the gold by repaying the loan and give it to her, he has not done that also.
Even after taking so much money and gold from the wife’s family, recently Ali Akbar Habibi again demanded Rs. 11 lakh to purchase a car. However, this time the woman’s family refused to give him any more money. After this, he allegedly gave his wife triple talaq through a video call.
Following this, the woman approached the Vejalpur police station and lodged a complaint against her husband and her family. Following the complaint, her husband Ali Akbar Habibi, his mother Amina Banu, and his brother Ali Azgar have been booked by the police.
Triple Talaq case in Fatewadi over girl child
A 24-year-old woman living in Fatewadi was harassed by her in-laws who were unhappy with her after she gave birth to a daughter. The husband also beat her up and thrashed her out of the house by giving triple talaq. The woman has lodged a complaint against her husband Salman Iqbal Sheikh and his family members for mental torture, assault, and giving triple talaq.
The 24-year-old woman was married to a man living in Fatewadi in 2018. After marriage, her in-laws, including her husband, used to harass her for dowry. Meanwhile, the woman gave birth to a son soon after the marriage. In August this year, she gave birth to a daughter, which angered her husband and his family. Unhappy with the birth of the girl child, the in-laws started to harass her by saying, ‘We wanted a son and you spoiled our dreams by giving birth to a daughter.’
According to the complaint, the woman also said that a few months after the marriage, her mother-in-law had started to mentally torture her by abusing her over household chores. Besides, her husband also joined in and started abusing and beating her up.
The woman said her husband used to beat her up with filthy abuses and also demanded dowry. He threatened to break her arms and legs and throw her out of the house if his demands were not fulfilled. The woman has also accused her mother-in-law of assaulting her by hurling filthy abuse.
According to the complaint, after the birth of her daughter in August this year, her husband and mother-in-law again started mentally torturing her by saying that they wanted another son and also started demanding dowry and also asked her to bring Rs 50,000 from her father.
In October last year, her husband suddenly got angry and gave triple talaq by saying ‘I don’t want to keep you’. He thrashed her out of the house while she nothing had with her except the clothes she wore. He threatened to break her hands and legs if she returned.
After the incident, the victim lived with her father till now. But she said she was filing a police complaint as there was no settlement even during this period. The police have registered a case against the accused, including Salman Iqbal Sheikh, Anjumbanu Sheikh, Zakir, and Rahnumabanu, under sections 498A, 323, 294(b), 506(1), and 114 of the IPC and sections 3 and 7 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, besides sections 3 and 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
