Gurugram: The Haryana Police has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against a man and his family members for allegedly evicting his wife over demands for dowry and divorcing her illegally by pronouncing triple talaq in Nuh district.
The FIR at the Pingwan police station was registered Saturday against eight people, including the husband, his parents, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, for alleged dowry harassment, domestic abuse, and sexual assault following a complaint filed by the 23-year-old woman.
Dalbir Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Pingwan police station, told ThePrint that the accused were booked for charges related to voluntarily causing hurt, assault with the intent to disrobe, criminal breach of trust, cruelty by husband and his relatives, and criminal intimidation.
The police have also invoked Section 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. The law provides for a jail term up to 3 years and fine to the husband who practiced instant triple talaq.
Triple talaq is a form of divorce that was practiced in Islam, whereby a Muslim man could divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq three times. The man need not cite any reason for the divorce and the wife need not be present at the time of pronouncement of talaq. In 2017, the Supreme Court declared triple talaq unconstitutional, citing it as arbitrary and violative of Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution.
A resident of Papda village, the woman was married to Shahrukh from Aterna Shamsabad village in May last year. She recently gave birth to a baby girl at her maternal home. In her complaint, she urged the police to recover her dowry items and take strict action against the accused, ensuring her safety and dignity.
According to the complainant, her father provided dowry items worth Rs 20 lakh, including a tractor, a motorcycle, jewellery, and household goods as well as Rs 1.11 lakh in cash. But her in-laws were dissatisfied and began harassing shortly after the wedding, demanding an additional Rs 5 lakh and a luxury car, she added.
Apart from the allegations of physical and mental abuse against her in-laws, she accused her father-in-law of making inappropriate advances and attempting to assault her on multiple occasions.
The woman further stated that her brothers-in-law supported her father-in-law’s actions, with one of them making inappropriate advances. Her husband allegedly sided with his family and verbally abused her, the FIR read.
She alleged that her father-in-law’s behavior escalated, prompting her to confront her husband. However, instead of addressing her concerns, her husband, under pressure from his family, pronounced triple talaq in front of others, severing their marital relationship.
She was allegedly beaten and her jewellery and ‘Mahr (a mandatory payment of a sum of amount as a gift by the husband to the wife)’ taken away before being evicted from the house, according to the FIR.
The complainant said that she approached her family, who tried to reconcile matters through a local village panchayat. However, her in-laws allegedly insulted the mediators and refused to accept her back unless their dowry demands were fulfilled.
Notices were sent to the accused to reach the police station for investigation on 20 and 29 November but they did not respond, SHO Singh said. The police are now conducting a detailed inquiry and have begun recording statements.
(Edited by Tony Rai)