Court lets agent utter 'talaq' on man's behalf

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Court-lets-agent-utter-talaq-on-mans-behalf/articleshow/8200761.cms

NEW DELHI: In a twist to the triple talaq rule, a city court has upheld the divorce sought by a man who had appointed an agent to pronounce 'divorce' on his behalf since he himself could not utter the words in Arabic.

The court said Shia Muslim personal law allows a man to obtain talaq under these circumstance.

Upholding the legality of the divorce given by one Sabir Hussain, additional district judge Reetesh Singh said the "respondent (Hussain) has duly proved that he had obtained divorce from the appellant as prescribed under Shia Muslim law".

Sabir's wife Mumtaz had contended that to secure divorce under the Shia Muslim law, 'talaq' should be pronounced only in Arabic by the husband himself. The court dismissed her plea on the ground that Sabir could not speak Arabic.

Sabir was married to Mumtaz in 1992. The couple lived in Brahmpuri, northeast Delhi, and have two sons and a daughter. In 2005, Sabir divorced Mumtaz alleging that she had treated him cruelly and kept calling the police while making bogus allegations against him and his family. A certificate of divorce was issued by Mansabia Arabic College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Mumtaz moved the trial court contending that since no notice was served intimating her of the divorce, it was not valid under the Muslim Shia law. The trial court, however, dismissed her plea.

Mumtaz then filed an appeal before the sessions court saying the requirement for a valid divorce under the Shia Muslim Law was that it should be pronounced only in Arabic by the husband. In his evidence, Sabir stated that he could read Arabic but was not able to speak the language and so he had appointed an agent, who held a 'fazil' degree, to pronounce divorce on his behalf.

He also produced the agent as a witness to prove his case. Two independent witnesses also identified their signatures on the divorce certificate before the court.

After going through the records and contentions of both parties, the court said that as Sabir could not speak Arabic, he had engaged the services of an agent well-versed in Arabic to pronounce 'talaq' on his behalf, as per the provisions of the Shia law.