Question:
I fell in love and got married in 2018, the family was going well, suddenly I moved to Bari because of my job, after that my wife started an affair with another boy, she threatened to divorce me if I told her anything. One time I could not arrange all these things and I asked her to divorce me, she told me that she gave me divorce but I did not get any notice of divorce, in this situation she married another boy, now I want to know if I did not get divorce notice then did we get divorced? And if there is no divorce then what legal action can be taken against the girl who got married?
Answer:
In this situation, your wife’s statement that she gave you a divorce, without any formal notice, does not legally constitute a divorce under Bangladeshi law. For a divorce to be valid, especially in the case of Islamic divorce (Talaq), the following steps should occur:
- Talaq Notice: A Talaq must be given through a formal process, and you must receive the notice for it to be valid. If you never received such notice, the divorce is not legally recognized.
- Marriage Validity: Since you did not receive a proper divorce notice, your marriage is still legally valid. Therefore, if your wife remarried another man without getting a divorce from you, her second marriage is considered invalid under the law. This is because bigamy (marrying someone while still being legally married to another person) is illegal under Bangladeshi law and punishable under the Penal Code of Bangladesh.
- Legal Action:
- File for Divorce: You can file for divorce under Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance to legally end the marriage. This will ensure that all proceedings are documented and handled through the court system.
- Criminal Action: You may file a complaint for bigamy under Section 494 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, which criminalizes marrying another person while still legally married. This may result in legal action against your wife for her second marriage without the dissolution of the first marriage.
- Seek Compensation: If you suffered emotional or financial harm due to her actions, you may also pursue a civil case for damages.