MUMBAI: Granting pre-arrest bail to man who divorced his wife by pronouncing triple talaq via sms, Bombay high court has suggested that the warring couple opt for mediation to resolve their matrimonial disputes.
Justice Sandeep Shinde heard a plea by the husband, a businessman, who was booked by the Oshiwara Police Station on June 16, 2021 under IPC section 498 A (cruelty) and section 4 (punishment for instant triple talaq ) of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 2019. On July 29 the Dindoshi sessions court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.
The couple married in April 2015 as per Muslim rites and have a 3-year-old son. The wife left her job as an airhostess in 2014 as told by his family. Her complaint said the initial days of marriage were good when they lived in Panvel. A month later, her mother-in-law asked her to bring Rs 10 lakh from her parents and she expressed their inability. Her husband, his parents and brother started harassing mentally and physically. When they shifted to a new flat in Kharghar, his family moved in with them. On May 22,2021 on the pretext of pest control, she was asked to go to her parents place with the son. On May 29, 2021 her husband sent her an sms pronouncing triple talaq.
The husband’s petition said the FIR is an attempt to harass and frame him in a bogus case. He said she fought over small things and always complained about his parents for no reason. He tried to make the marriage work, fulfilled her wishes and took her on foreign trips. She restricted him fulfilling his duties towards his parents and caused him immense mental torture and agony.
On August 24 Justice Shinde took note that the sessions judge had observed that the couple were blaming each other for the marital discord and therefore it is a matrimonial dispute. Also, the only ground on which pre-arrest protection was denied was that her ornaments are with him and a detailed investigation is necessary.
The husband’s advocate Ali Kashif Khan argued that a catena of judgments have held that police cannot act as recovery agents. Justice Shinde then asked the parties why to explore settling the matter through mediation. Having regard to the “general nature of allegations against the husband and his relatives”, Justice Shinde in his order said “in my view it is possible to settle the disputes and differences through mediation. The wife’s advocate sought time to take instructions and tell on September 9. Till then, if arrested the husband shall be released on personal bond of Rs 25,000/-.
