UP: Panchayat fines man Rs 2 lakh, orders him to compensate wife whom he divorced via triple talaq

A man from Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh was fined Rs 2 lakh by a Panchayat comprising 52 villages for divorcing his wife via triple talaq.

As per reports in The Times of India, the man, Salman Turk, was also ordered to pay Rs 60,000 as ‘mehr’ to his former wife. He was also instructed to return whatever he had received as dowry from the woman’s family.

Turk, 45, of Musapur village under Hayatnagar police station got married to Sabiha Begum, 35, in 2014. The marriage was not a happy one, with frequent quarrels. On June 1, in a fit of rage, Turk pronounced triple talaq on his wife.

The woman's family approached the elders, and a panchayat was convened on Sunday, attended by elders as well as reputed jurists. Their conclusion was that pronouncing triple talaq at one go was undesirable and irregular. They fined Turk Rs 2 lakh, and also asked him to pay Rs 60,000 as mehr to Sabiha Begum.

One of the village elders told the daily that triple talaq could not be pronounced as per wish. A buffer period of three months is required for a couple to resolve their differences. Plus, talaq given in anger or intoxication doesn't count."