Kanoon Ki Dastak
Srinagar— In a significant order, the Court of 15th Additional Munsiff, Judicial Magistrate 1st Class Srinagar, has directed Police Station Channapora to register a First Information Report (FIR) against a man for allegedly pronouncing an instant and irrevocable talaq upon his wife in violation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
The direction came in response to an application filed under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) by the applicant, who alleged that her husband had sent her a divorce notice titled “Talaq Ahsan.”
However, a detailed examination of the contents revealed that the talaq had the effect of an instantaneous and irrevocable divorce, akin to Talaq-e-Biddat.
The court, presided over by Judicial Magistrate Zirgham Hamid, noted that such a form of divorce falls squarely within the ambit of Section 2(c) of the Muslim Women Act, 2019, which criminalizes any talaq that is instantaneous and irrevocable in nature. The Act also classifies the offence as cognizable and prescribes punishment under Section 4.
In compliance with the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v. State of U.P. and Priyanka Srivastava v. State of U.P., the court had earlier directed the Station House Officer (SHO), Channapora, to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the complaint. The enquiry, along with the action taken report and the statement of the Investigating Officer, revealed a prima facie commission of a cognizable offence.
Consequently, the court ordered the SHO to register an FIR and commence a full-fledged investigation.
The application, filed through Advocate Mueed Ul Islam, has now been disposed of.