UP Woman's Triple Talaq Nightmare: Halala Abuse Case Tests Legal Boundaries
In a case that pushes India's 2019 Triple Talaq law into uncharted territory, Uttar Pradesh police registered an FIR on December 9, 2025, revealing allegations that go far beyond typical complaints under the legislation. The incident, reported from Amroha's Said Nagli, exposes a disturbing grey area the law has never squarely addressed: what happens to women after instant triple talaq is pronounced.
Shocking Allegations of Coerced Halala
According to the detailed FIR, a woman who was divorced through instant triple talaq faced immense pressure from her husband, brother-in-law, and local clerics to undergo "halala" multiple times to enable her return to the marriage. Halala, an exception permitting divorced Muslim couples to remarry, often involves planned short-term marriages or arranged one-time encounters to facilitate consummation with another man before reconciliation.
The woman's complaint describes a harrowing ordeal, alleging she was "gang-raped under false pretenses of halala carried out under threats, intimidation and coercion." Police have invoked sections 3 and 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, along with multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with rape, aggravated hurt, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy.
Expanding Investigation and Legal Complexities
Initially naming three accused—her husband, his cousin, and a hakim (traditional healer)—the FIR has since expanded with additional suspects. Amroha police confirmed one arrest so far, with the husband in custody while authorities search for others on the run.
"The FIR has been registered on the basis of a written complaint. Further action will depend on corroboration and evidence," stated SHO Vikas Sahrawat of Amroha police.
This week, based on the victim's age at marriage, police added multiple provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to the FIR, significantly expanding its scope. This move highlights an unresolved legal grey area, as Muslim personal law remains uncodified and doesn't prescribe a minimum marriage age, instead linking marriageability to puberty—an issue the Supreme Court has yet to settle definitively.
Years of Alleged Abuse and Coercion
The FIR covers several years of alleged abuse, assault, and rape. The victim, identified as Zubaida (name changed), told police she was forcefully married in 2015 at age 15 and subjected to instant triple talaq pronouncements twice—in 2016 and again in 2021—followed by three coerced reconciliation attempts through halala.
"I felt like I was being handed over every time. I was too ashamed to come out with what had happened to me. I didn't want my daughter to grow up reading about it," Zubaida revealed in her statement.
A former student of one of Aligarh's top schools from a family with public service background—her grandfather served as DSP in UP police and her father as a lawyer—Zubaida described how after the first triple talaq in 2016, she was told she could return to her husband only after undergoing halala, a process that involved sexual assault by someone introduced as an "intermediary."
In February 2025, she was informed she would need to follow the halala process twice since her marriage had broken down twice by then. After years as a single mother facing financial difficulties, Zubaida said she fell for false promises of remarriage before realizing the wrong done to her.
Counter-Allegations and Legal History
While Zubaida struggles to maintain normalcy for her daughter with her husband now incarcerated, the accused has filed counter-allegations. In a written complaint dated November 26, 2025, he claimed Zubaida "tried to forcibly enter his house and threatened him with false criminal cases."
Documents show Zubaida's divorce was finalized through a family court decree in 2021, with the court initially placing their daughter's custody with the father.
The Silent Epidemic of Halala Abuse
Halala finds no mention in Indian statutory law. While the 2019 Muslim Women Act criminalized instant triple talaq, it did not—and does not—recognize halala, creating a significant legal void.
"In many cases, women don't even know that what is being done to them is wrong," explained Zakia Soman, founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. "Halala is not mentioned in the Quran. It survives through misinterpretation, patriarchal control and silence. There is a hush-hush around it. For a woman to come forward takes extraordinary courage."
Soman emphasized that the practice survives in pockets through informal, largely invisible setups. "Triple talaq was criminalized on paper, but the ecosystem that sustained it was never dismantled. Without regulations, halala survives as an unpoliced, underground arrangement."
She cited cases where clerics themselves offered to "perform" halala, and others where women were passed between men to settle personal disputes, family feuds, or debts—arrangements that remain hidden unless women break ranks and approach police.
Structural Gaps in Legal Protection
Experts point to systemic deficiencies that complicate prosecution of such cases. A major gap is the absence of mandatory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces.
"Nikahs are largely undocumented," said Naish Hasan, a Lucknow-based activist with over two decades of experience working with halala survivors. "When there is no paper trail, the burden of proof falls entirely on women."
Hasan noted the practice persists particularly among poor and marginalized women, with her fieldwork including around 40 detailed case studies from Lucknow district alone. "Justice should reach every last woman," she asserted.
Petitions challenging halala, including one filed by Hasan in 2021, remain pending before the Supreme Court, leaving this critical issue in legal limbo as cases like Zubaida's continue to emerge from the shadows.
