Mumbai woman switched off fan, got triple talaq

While the triple talaq issue was still being heard and played out, a bizarre case came up for hearing at an NGO on Friday night where the husband divorced his wife through triple talaq because she had switched off the fan of the room where he was sleeping. The case had come up at Public Complaint Centre in Pydhonie that looks to amicably settle marital disputes through Shariat based laws.

The incident happened three years ago but only came up for "hearing" on Friday night after the husband complained to the body that his wife had refused to leave his house despite a divorce given to her. The complaint was made over a month ago and "notices" were issued to his wife.

Public Complaint Centre, which provides free legal aid and help to couples, works under Bombay Social Service, an NGO registered with charity commissioner. A few years ago, the complaint centre was even complimented for its work by the Bombay High Court. "There is a legal and medical cell which provide free services," said advocate Javed Ansari.

Ansari is part of legal cell along with advocate Bharat Joshi, chairperson of the legal aid center.

On Friday night, a 55-year-old woman and her daughter were summoned by the centre. Her 65-year-old husband, a father of five, divorced her through triple talaq in August, 2014. "He had asked something from me. Since the fan in the room in which he was sleeping makes a lot of noise, I switched it off. I thought he was not able to hear me properly because of the fan's noise. He got furious, called a neighbour and making one of my daughters and that neighbour the witness, divorced me," the woman said. She is now asked by her husband to leave the house.

The man is now thinking of remarrying. "He was a taxi driver but has been unemployed for several years," one of his daughters said. "The Mufti of the Haji Ali Dargah has issued a fatwa that the divorce was valid. Now we are trying to help the couple come to a common point," said Abdul Razzak Maniyar, chief organiser of Public Complaint Center. Maniyar thinks the divorce is valid based on the fatwa issued by the Mufti.

"The two parties want to live separately but that will not be good for either of them. We want to make sure that the woman lives in the same house with her children. I had called some community members as well so that the issue can be talked about but the woman's husband did not come today (Friday)," Maniyar said.

And it doesn't end here. The center has one more case of divorce to pacify. Not triple talaq but a case where two sisters were divorced by respective husbands, both brothers, through Talaq Bayeen (postal letters). "In that case, the women did not want to live with their husbands. One of the sister has agreed for a divorce and has accepted Rs 50,000 as one time payment on the condition of being able to meet her children once every month," Maniyar added.