HYDERABAD: Just when divorces through Whatsapp and speed post are becoming a debate in courts, a Saudi Arabia-based banker decided to declare the end of his marriage to a 25 year old woman in Hyderabad, through a newspaper ad. Mohd Mushtaquddin married the unnamed woman in 2015 and took her to Saudi five months later. They even had a baby girl last year.
Two months ago, the family came to India and the woman went to her parents' home after an alleged fight. Three weeks later, Mushtaquddin allegedly left for Saudi Arabia without informing his wife and even neglected her calls. The woman was told by her father-in-law that he had left and wasn't allowed in their home. "If I did anything wrong, he should have spoken to me and my parents. If I was wrong he should have given talaaq in front of everyone as he was married me in front of all relatives. Why did he run away to Saudi Arabia without meeting me... and divorce me through an ad even with a 10 month old baby."
Police officer S Gangadhar said the man had harassed his wife for a dowry of Rs 2000,000. "We are conducting a probe and also verifying if a divorce announced through a newspaper is valid under the Sharia," Gangadhar said. The case comes two days after a man was arrested in Hyderabad for mailing a "triple talaaq" postcard to divorce his new wife. The practice has been challenged by Muslim women in the Supreme Court.
