MALAPPURAM: A man has been booked for allegedly pronouncing talaq over the phone to divorce his wife, as well as on charges of assaulting her and demanding dowry, police said on Saturday.
The Kalpakanchery police registered a case against Shahul Hameed, a native of Edakkulam.
The case was filed after his wife, a 21-year-old woman from Naduvattam in the district, approached the police, alleging that she had been subjected to physical and mental torture by her husband over demands for more dowry.
In her complaint, the woman also alleged that her husband had recently divorced her over a phone call in the presence of his mother.
According to the complainant, the accused married her in 2021, and she had been facing harassment and abuse since shortly after their wedding.
The couple had been living separately for some time, and the woman recently approached the police with her complaint.
The accused was booked under Section 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, for allegedly pronouncing talaq over the phone, police said.
Various sections of the IPC, including Section 498A (cruelty against a married woman by her husband or his relatives), were also invoked against him, they added.
Police sources said IPC sections were applied instead of BNS, as the alleged harassment occurred before 2024.
The man was summoned for interrogation following the complaint, and further action will be taken soon, police said.