Kerala Muslim faces threats after remarrying wife under special marriages law

The Kerala police on Thursday said it intensified surveillance around the house of a Muslim lawyer, who remarried his wife under the Special Marriage Act to ensure their daughters' financial security.

The vigil has been stepped up in the area of advocate-actor C Shukkur's house in Kanhangad in Kasaragod in the wake of news reports on threats by some outfits against the man and his family, a senior police officer told PTI.

Shukkur, on Wednesday, remarried his wife Sheena, the former pro-vice chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, under the Special Marriage Act in the presence of their three daughters at a sub-registrar's office at Kanhangad in Hosdurg taluk of the northern Kerala district.

The couple decided to get remarried under the SMA as under the Muslim personal laws, which also govern inheritance of property, daughters will only get two-thirds of their father's property and the rest will go to his brothers in the absence of a male heir.

"As of now, there is nothing like personal protection. There is no full-time security to the family or the house. But, we have strengthened the vigil around the premises of their house," the officer said.

When asked whether there was any intelligence input on any possible attack against the advocate, he replied in the negative.

"The media has extensively reported about the remarriage incident in the last two days. Today, some newspapers have carried reports about an alleged fatwa issued by certain religious institutions against the family," he said.

Though the state police has no first-hand information regarding the threat, a decision has been taken to intensify the surveillance in the area based on media reports, the officer added.

The Muslim couple's remarriage has received both criticism and approval on social media.

A prominent Sunni higher education institute in Kerala had opined that the couple's decision was an attempt to disrespect Muslim personal laws and Islam.

It said that the remarriage was a "drama" and an indication of "narrow-minded thinking" that Shukkur's brothers should not get the one-third share of his property after his death.

While the institute was of the view that every believer would strongly oppose the couple's decision, Shukkur had reacted to it on his Facebook page by saying that the educational institution would be responsible for any physical attack on him.