A man in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district was arrested for pronouncing triple talaq to his wife for being obese. This marks the first case under the newly promulgated Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance 2018.

The case was registered at Meghnagar police station in Jhabua against Dahod (Gujarat) resident Arif Hussain Diwan and mother Hussain Bano, who has been on the run, on Wednesday.

The complainant woman is a native of Sherani Mohalla in Meghnagar and was married to Arif a decade ago and they have two kids from the marriage, Meghnagar police said.

Soon after the marriage, Arif started harassing his wife saying she was too fat. As the torture did not end, the woman recently moved to her brother’s home in Meghnagar.

Arif also reached Meghnagar on October 12 with his mother and is reported to have harassed his wife verbally and physically. He also demanded dowry from her family. As the feud escalated, Arif pronounced triple talaq to his wife.

The woman has claimed that she was repeatedly beaten up by her husband and mother-in-law. She alleged that the mother-in-law would often make unpalatable comments on her health. She also complained that they did not feed her well saying that she was obese.

After the woman's complaint, the police booked her husband Arif and mother-in-law Hussain Bano under Sections 323, 498A, 506 and 34 of the IPC.

The statements of the victim and witnesses have been recorded before a court in Petlawad (Jhabua), the police said.

The ordinance against triple talaq was promulgated by the Centre in September. The ordinance has a provision of imprisonment upto six months.