Karnataka: Man booked over texting ‘Triple Talaq’ to wife through Whatsapp from abroad

A man working in the UAE, Mohammed Rashid, has been booked by Karnataka police for allegedly using triple talaq via WhatsApp to divorce his wife while she was in India for the birth of their second child. Rashid has been charged under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code based on his wife's complaint. The couple had been married for seven years before the divorce.

A man working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been booked by Karnataka police for accusingly using triple talaq to divorce his wife via WhatsApp. The accused, Mohammed Rashid (35) from Thrissur, Kerala, reportedly divorced his wife, Nafisathul Misriya, through a WhatsApp message while she was in India for the birth of their second child.

Misriya, who had been married to Rashid for seven years, had returned to India for her delivery. However, following a domestic dispute, Rashid allegedly began verbally abusing her through calls and WhatsApp messages on March 12. On June 5, he sent a message asking her to live with her mother and pronounced "talaq" (divorce) three times. Three days later, he reiterated the triple talaq through another message.

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The FIR against Rashid has been registered under section 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code based on Misriya's complaint.

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Misriya's complaint detailed the verbal abuse and the triple talaq declarations through WhatsApp messages made by Rashid, who was working in Abu Dhabi. The couple got married on September 8, 2016. When Misriya was expecting her second child, Rashid sent her to her mother's house in Jayanagar, Sulya, in October 2022. 

Domestic conflicts led to the triple talaq pronouncements, with Rashid stating, "You live with your mother, I don't want you. I say talaq three times" on March 12, and repeating the same on July 8, 2023.