Now, talaq takes the Skype route

Now, talaq takes the Skype route Mahesh Buddi TNN  Hyderabad: If online nikah gained popularity in the Muslim community, could e-talaq be far behind? The new generation is now using modern communication tools like Skype and short message service (SMS) to sever marital ties in a jiffy.     For instance, Mehrunnisa  (name changed), a 23-year-old housewife from Hussainialam, was shocked to receive talaq in the form of an SMS on her mobile from her United Arab Emirates-based husband. A perplexed Mehrunnisa approached the police. “The woman’s husband, a private employee who had gone to the UAE a year ago, had sent an SMS saying talaq. The woman believed that she was divorced and approached us for justice,” Women Police Station (WPS), South Zone, inspector N Sreya said.     Narrating another such incident, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), South Zone, Tarun Joshi said that when he was posted in the Central Zone a few months ago, a housewife from Himayatnagar approached him with a complaint against her techie husband who had given her talaq through Skype video chat.     “The victim’s husband is in the US and he pronounced talaq while video chatting with her on Skype. As the woman complained that she was harassed by her husband, we have registered a domestic violence case under section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” the DCP said.     Every year, lakhs of skilled and semi-skilled Hyderabadi Muslim workers migrate to the oil-rich Gulf countries, North America and European nations in search of livelihood. Earlier, when migrants wanted to get divorced, they used to post talaq documents to their wives back home with details of settlement of the Mehr amount. However, with the advent of digital technology, Muslim men have begun to utilise the internet and mobile phones to give talaq. The Hyderabad police claimed that in the past few months, several cases of men giving talaq to their wives through SMSs and video chats have come to their notice. WAKF BOARD TO BE CONSULTED Cops cracking down on NRIs  Hyderabad: Asked about the validity of such talaq, advocate Mohammed Muneeruddin told TOI, “Pronouncing talaq through digital means, including SMS or video chat or e-mail, in the presence of witnesses is perfectly acceptable as per the Sharia.”     “Talaq has to be pronounced thrice, on three occasions in three consecutive months as per the Sharia. However, the prevalent practice is to pronounce it thrice at a go in the presence of a qazi and other witnesses and get it registered. It is illegal as per the Sharia,” Muneeruddin added.     Though legal experts claim e-talaq is acceptable as per the Sharia if done in the presence of witnesses by showing that the dower (mehr) amount has been given to the wife, women can still hope for justice if they prove they were subjected to torture.     “We are accepting talaq documents sent by post but not intimations through SMSs and emails as in a majority of such cases, men act on the spur of the moment. In such cases, if a woman approaches us saying she was duped, we will register cases under section 498-A (Punishment for subjecting a married woman to cruelty) of the IPC or the Dowry Prohibition Act,” Central Crime Station (CCS), WPS inspector P Janakamma said.     Police are also cracking down on Non-resident Indians (NRIs) who desert their wives in this manner. In the past four months, the South Zone police issued 20 look out circulars (LOCs) against men who were accused in domestic violence cases. “We have managed to arrest six people in the past few months based on the LOCs,” Tarun Joshi said. According to the police, a majority of such domestic violence cases end up in an amicable settlement at Lok Adalats where men pay dower (mehr) amount to their former wives.     Police are now planning to write to the AP Wakf Board requesting them to provide guidelines on dealing with the new age talaq cases.