Telangana: NGOs facilitating triple talaq under guise of counselling centres
Hyderabad: NGOs in the south and west zones of Hyderabad facilitate triple talaq for Muslim couples under the guise of family counselling centres. They collect a “mediation fee” ranging from Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000 to arrange an instant divorce. On June 6, the city police booked a case against the Siraj Foundation of Humayunanagar, based on a complaint filed by Mohammed Parvez of Bhadurpura, who alleged that he had been duped. The police said that 27-year-old Parvez had married Fareeda Begum two-and-a-half years ago. In his complaint, Parvez said that his wife used to regularly visit her brother’s house, which led to quarrels between them. He contacted the Siraj Foundation on January 24, 2017, seeking counselling.
Representatives of the foundation promised to arrange for a khula, a divorce initiated by the wife. As part of the arrangement, Parvez was asked to pay Rs 1.21 lakh to his wife, Rs 35,000 to Ms Siraj Khan of the Foundation, as meditation fee, and an additional Rs 10,000 as expenses. On January 27, members of the Foundation simply asked him to say “talaq, talaq, talaq” to his wife and then declared the couple divorced.
Fifteen days later, Parvez’s wife filed a case of dowry harassment against him. When Parvez asked Siraj Khan to return his money, she asked him to go underground and said that she would handle the police. When he asked his wife why she had filed a case against him despite him having given her money, she said that she had not received the money from Siraj Khan. Finally, he filed a case against the Foundation, alleging cheating and criminal intimidation.
Advocates say that many family counselling centres and foundations indulge in similar practices. Advocate Momin Roshan Zameer says, “It is illegal for NGOs to accept money and conduct these kinds of settlements. It is not acceptable under Islamic Law either.” DCP (South) V. Satyanarayana says that there are family counselling centres available at police stations as well.
“We don’t encourage triple talaq or divorce at these centres. We refer their cases to the court,” he says. He adds that stern action will be taken against NGOs found accepting money to conduct divorce settlements. Meanwhile, the police, advocates, and activists encourage couples to approach family courts instead of fraudulent counselling centres.
