Gujarat court sentences man to two years jail in triple talaq case

Ahmedabad: A court in Mehsana convicted a man to two years rigorous imprisonment for giving instant divorce to his wife. The court denied the man any leniency, holding that "the benefits of probation can't be extended to an accused involved in such an act."

The court of additional chief judicial magistrate Sunil L Mahta pronounced the verdict on Tuesday holding the accused Zakir Hussain Shah Fakir guilty under sections of the Muslim Women (protection of rights on marriage), Act, 2019 and sections of Indian Penal Code.

Fakir was booked under the new law in September 2019, about two months after the practice of triple talaq was declared illegal. He divorced his wife, Afsaana, for 17 years through triple talaq during a quarrel with her in presence of her family members.

She filed an FIR with Mehsana A Division police station against Fakir and his second wife, Bismila Banu, who he married earlier that year. The court acquitted Banu saying that under the only "Muslim husband", who pronounces "talaq thrice" can be held accountable and not the one who is aiding him.

The court didn't entertain the argument of the defendant that there was no independent witness in the case.

Earlier in Banaskantha, a deputy engineer, Sarfarazkhan Bihari, was sentenced to one year imprisonment for trying to divorce his wife of seven years through triple talaq.