MP woman 'given triple talaq' for voting to BJP; husband denies charge

A 26-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district has claimed her husband gave her 'triple talaq' after being angry with her for supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party, among other reasons, police said.

The woman's husband, however, has denied the allegations and accused her of having extra-marital affairs

The woman, in her police complaint filed on Sunday, said she got married nearly eight years ago.

Their relations were normal for some time, but later her husband, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law allegedly started taunting and beating her over some or the other issue, Kotwali police station in-charge Umesh Golhani told reporters on Monday.

The woman claimed she was thrown away from the house about one-and-a-half-years ago and stayed with her husband in a rented room, he said.

Quoting the complaint, Golhani said the woman supported a political party and voted in favour of it, which further angered her husband, after which he gave her 'triple talaq'.

Based on the woman's complaint, the police have registered a case against her husband, mother-in-law and four sisters-in-law under provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act and the Indian Penal Code, he said.

The victim's statement has been recorded and further legal steps are being taken, he said.

The woman told reporters in Chhindwara on Monday that her husband had sent the talaq notice, accusing her of being characterless and having illicit affairs, which she claimed were false and baseless.

"I have replied to the notice through my lawyer. Later, I supported the BJP and voted for it. When my husband, his mother and sisters got this information, he gave me triple talaq. His family members told him to either leave them or give triple talaq to me," she alleged.

The woman's husband, however, alleged she had affairs which caused the 'disturbance' and that he gave her several chances (for reconciliation) for the sake of their child's future.

This is not an issue of 'instant triple talaq' or supporting any political party as there was no election in 2022, he claimed while speaking to reporters on Monday.

The man said he first gave talaq to his wife on March 30, 2022, and twice later in October and November 2023, in accordance with the Muslim law.

He alleged the woman had been threatening him, maligning his image, ruining the lives of his family members for a long time and levelling such charges to hide her affairs.

The man also claimed nobody in his family harassed her as she was living separately since the past three years.

The issue of talaq had already been filed in a court and everyone in the family was free to support any political party, he said.

The man also said his sisters were staying separately in another town, but their names were 'falsely' included in the case.