india

Updated: Aug 16, 2019 20:51 IST

The Kerala police on Friday arrested a man from Kozhikode in north Kerala after he divorced his wife by pronouncing talaq thrice, said a senior police official. This is the first case in the state after the bill proscribing the practice was passed last month.

The police official said E K Usman (34) had divorced his wife in the first week of August and later she had moved court which issued an arrest warrant against him. Arrested under Sections 3 and 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriages Act) of 2019, he was later released on bail. If convicted, he will get a prison term of three years with a fine under the new law.

In her complaint, the woman said her husband had divorced her without any valid ground and she was forced to take legal recourse under the new law. The Parliament had passed the bill last month criminalizing the practice of instant triple talaq. Despite the new law, the practice is still continuing in many parts of the country, including Kerala, which is socially and economically advanced, the latest incident shows.