Court rejects plea of Nida Khan’s husband

LUCKNOW: A Bareilly court on Tuesday rejected the plea of Nida Khan’s husband Sheeran Raza Khan, who sought dropping of domestic violence charges against him, even as the UP Minorities Commission asked the district magistrate and the SSP of Bareilly to provide security to the woman.

The development came after the Imam of Bareilly Jama Masjid Md Khurshid Alam issued a fatwa against Nida Khan on Monday ostracising her from Islam over her defiance and statement criticising triple talaq.

Khan, who has been vocal about her plight and claims she was a victim of triple talaq, decided to approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court against the fatwa.

Rejecting the plea of Khan’s husband, a Bareilly court fixed July 27 as the next date of hearing.

Raza had taken the plea that a case of domestic violence could not be registered against him as he had already divorced his wife.

Earlier in February 2018, a family court had refused to accept the divorce given by Raza to his wife.

Meanwhile, chairman of UP Minority Commission Tanveer Haider Usmani directed the Bareilly DM and the SPP to provide security to Khan in the wake of a fatwa issued against her.

“This is a very serious issue. I have taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and asked the district authorities to submit a report in the case.”

“The Commission is also sending a two-member fact-finding team, comprising Kunwar Iqbal Haider and Rumanna Siddiqui, to Bareilly. The team will submit its report by Thursday,” he added.

“The Supreme Court has already struck down instant triple talaq and practices like ‘halala’ and ‘muta.’ But some clerics are trying to bring a bad name to Islam by defending such practices,” Usmani said, adding the rights of women would be governed by the Indian Constitution and not by archaic religious practices.

Khan was divorced by her husband Sheeran Raza in 2016 after which she moved the court against him and her in-laws. The court is scheduled to hear the case on July 20.

Raza is from the family of the head of Aala Hazrat, a prominent shrine in Bareilly.

Khan had alleged that she suffered a miscarriage after being assaulted by her husband in 2015. She has been highlighting the plight of triple talaq and nikah halala victims ever since with the help of an NGO which she runs thereby inviting the ire of clerics.

AFTER CLERIC ISSUED FATWA AGAINST TALAQ VICTIM, UP MINORITIES COMMISSION HAS ASKED BAREILLY DM, SSP TO PROVIDE SECURITY TO HER