NRI divorces his wife of four weeks through WhatsApp

The commission has asked the Non-resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) department to trace the youth, who has not responded to the summons issued by the Commission, to trace him. Her husband of ten days left for Dubai but three weeks later she received a “triple talaq” – on WhatsApp!

The mother of the bride gave the man more than $22,000 in dowry and 80 sovereigns of gold, but the man’s reaction caused the girl to drop out of school, together with her sister.

J Prameela Devi, a member of the state women’s commission adalat, said: ‘He said she was like an apple and he had already tasted it. So he did not want her any more’. It has also told the police to present the man’s parents at the next hearing.

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, An NGO conducted a study across the 10 states, which showed that women have unequivocally voiced their dissent against the discriminatory practice of triple talaq, with 92.1% seeking its ban.

A 27-year-old Non-resident Keralite (NRK) divorced his wife over WhatsApp, kicking off a debate in the southern Indian state of Kerala over the validity of talaqs delivered through social networking sites and message sharing apps.

Reacting to the development, Dakshina Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama leader Kadakkal Abdul Azeez Moulavi said there was no validity of such talaq. “If the husband sticks to his stand, divorce will be sanctioned”. Sayyed Attakoya Thangal, the district president of the Ulama said, “The divorce, however, will be granted only after holding discussions with both the man and wife and their family members”.

However, another member of the same organisation questioned the validity of the WhatsApp talaq, saying that it could not be considered as a legal document.

“Talaq should ideally be done face-to-face”. Talaq should be done face-to-face or else relevant documents should be signed by witnesses.

“There are certain conditions that govern a formal talaq that have clearly not been followed here”. She said the only message she got was this Talaq message on WhatsApp.