"It is also possible that a rape case will be booked against the accused."
An Indian man divorces his wife in a rather unusual fashion – by sending a postcard to her. The couple married on 16th March 2017 in Hyderabad. However, he changed his mind only a week after the wedding.
The Indan man, identified as Haneef, decided to reveal his intention to divorce his wife by sending a postcard. Reports suggest that in the postcard, Haneef wrote “talaq” (divorce) three times.
A triple talaq acts as an Islamic tradition of ending a marriage without giving notice to courts.
However, upon receiving the postcard, Haneef’s wife visited the Hyderabad police station to file a complaint. She revealed to police a strange twist to the tale.
Haneef could not divorce her as the marriage was not legal. Both Haneef and his wife remained married to their first partners.
Deputy Commissioner, V Satyanarayana told the BBC:
“Our investigation showed that the marriage procedure was not correct because he did not have the right papers.”
Police are now investigating into the case. They arrested Haneef under charges of harassment and cheating, but later they released him on bail. They will now investigate whether he will face an additional charge of rape once police find him guilty.
The Deputy Commissioner also revealed:
“We are investigating as to what exactly happened later in the day when the marriage was solemnised. We have called for records from the qazi so that they can be examined. Depending on the outcome we will take a call. It is also possible that a rape case will be booked against the accused.”
Many activists across India have campaigned against the practice of talaq and called for a ban. Therefore, Indian top courts currently hold talks on whether the practice should deem as unconstitutional.
Police investigations of Haneef remain ongoing.