Patna: A woman in Bihar divorced her husband by uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times over the phone on Friday after falling in love with her brother-in-law.

The woman served the instant divorce in the presence of a village court which had been convened to look into the matter, at Rajajan village, Khagaria district, some 170km east of Patna.

The case comes amid a raging debate in India over the continuation of the Islamic practice of ‘triple talaq’.

The woman, Rozida Khatoon, was unhappy with her husband Mohammad Junail and the couple were living apart for extended periods of time owing to Junail’s efforts to earn a livelihood.

In his absence, Khatoon drew close to her brother-in-law, Mohammad Nasir, and the two fell in love.

As news of their affair reached the ears of local villagers, they reported the matter to the local village court, which met Friday to decide their fate.

At the court, Khatoon called Junail and divorced him instantly after uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times.

She stunned the court by announcing her intention to stay with Nasir, a father of four children. “I love him [Nasir] and want to stay with him,” Khatoon told the court.

When asked to present his position, Nasir agreed to accept Khatoon as his wife and declared that he would ensure the peace between both his wives.

The court allowed them to stay together but informed Nasir that he would be held responsible in the event of any dispute between his wives.

The incident comes barely three days after the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board reportedly told the Supreme Court that the women too can give talaq.

“The woman can also negotiate in the Nikah Nama [a binding contract and a fundamental element of an Islamic marriage] and include provisions therein consistent with Islamic law to contractually stipulate that her husband does not resort to triple talaq, she has right to pronounce triple talaq in all forms, and ask for very high ‘mehr’ amount in case of talaq and impose such other conditions as are available to her in order to protect her dignity,” the Muslim law board was quoted as saying in The Times of India.

A five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court that was hearing a bunch of petitions seeking an end to the practice has reserved its ruling. The court concluded its hearing in the case in a record six days.