AMU Professor’s Triple talaq row: A litmus test for SC’s judgement

It’s not been too late that the Supreme Court came out with the historical judgement striking down the centuries-old practice of instant triple talaq among Indian Muslims on August 22, a professor and chairman of Department of Sanskrit at the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University, Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan has been accused of seeking to divorce his wife through instant messaging platform WhatsApp.  
In a first of its kind case to be surfaced in Aligarh after the apex court questioned the Islamic practice, Yasmeen Khalid, wife of Professor Khalid Khan, has levelled allegations against her husband for divorcing her via WhatsApp and SMS.
Yasmeen has lodged an FIR under sections 498 A of Indian Penal Code and Dowry Act. In her complaint, she has alleged that Khalid had taken away her elder daughter along with her jewellery worth Rs 5 Lakh. “He (Khan) turned me out of the house and I have been running from pillar to post to get justice. But no one has helped me so far. However, with the help of police, I did manage to get access to my house on Friday evening,” a recent news report quoted her as saying.
While on the other side of the coin, Khalid had completely denied the allegations stating that instead of her being abused, he had been harassed and deceived by her for the last two decades.  “I later got to know that she was not even a graduate, unlike what she had claimed prior to our marriage. It was like cheating, but I ignored all this. She did her BA and MA with my help. Few days ago, we got to know that she was already married to a man named Rashid from Kashmir” he said.
Giving further clarification, a news agency quoted Prof Khalid as saying “I have not given her triple talaq. I divorced her verbally and sent the same via post and WhatsApp. After a month, I divorced her verbally and sent it via SMS. She is still my wife. There was never a third divorce.” He also alleged Yasmeen of exaggerating the matter.
When asked if there was any instance of domestic violence, Khalid Khan said that he, being 80 per cent handicapped, never attempted to indulge in any kind of abuse. He further said that Yasmeen served as the president of Samajwadi Party’s women’s wing in Aligarh and was a bold and independent woman.
Slapped with yet another allegation by his wife, Khan was alleged not cooperating with the police. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yasmeen postulated that her husband acted against the Supreme Court judgment on triple talaq.
City SSP Rajesh Pandey said they are helpless to act in the case citing no provision in the law and IPC on triple talaq. He said after SC ruling, the triple talaq stands invalid while police is insisting the couple for counselling for patch up.
Police has called Khalid to appear before them. They assured that the reconciliation efforts will be made, but also cleared that if Yasmeen wants to file domestic violence case against husband, the police won’t hesitate to ensure justice to the victim.
The incident has evoked sharp reactions from civil societies too and is considered to be a litmus test for the Supreme Court which has recently termed the practice of triple talaq as unconstitutional, manifestly arbitrary and void in law.
The matter is growing as a serious threat to the preeminence of the apex body which is expected to safeguard law and ensure justice to the victims.  
The question is as simple as that “Is our law system so weak that can be confronted through a social platform like Whatsapp or SMS.” The regulatory body is yet to answer the same.