Man divorces wife on social media and posts pictures with another woman; arrested

A man has been arrested after he allegedly attempted to divorce his wife on social media via ‘triple talaq.’ The act was criminalized in India nearly 3 years ago.

The accused, identified as Sheikh Mohammed Saleem, was a resident of Shirva in Mangaluru’s Udupi district. After getting married to Swapnaz in 2010, Saleem moved to Saudi Arabia with his wife and their daughter, where they had been residing for 10 years. Saleem returned to India in July this year and got into a relationship with another woman. He apparently left his wife and daughter in Saudi Arabia and later attempted to divorce his wife on social media with the triple talaq message. He went on to post pictures of the woman he was having an affair with, on his account. Swapnaz registered a complaint with the police through an e-mail soon after she received his message. The police began an investigation and arrested Saleem after he was found guilty. He was sent for a medical examination and his Covid-19 tests came back negative. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. 

Triple Talaq, also known as Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, was passed by the Indian Parliament as a law on July 30, 2019, to make instant Triple Talaq a criminal offence. A Muslim man was earlier able to severe all marital ties with his wife by simply uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times.