Facing allegations of cheating, harassment and criminal intimidation, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on Monday engaged a Delhi-based lawyer who said his marriage with Hyderabadi girl Ayesha Siddiqui was "illegal" and there was no question of divorce.
"No question of 'Talak' arises when the marriage itself is illegal because, as per the Islamic Law, the identity of the bride and bridegroom have to be disclosed at the time of 'nikah' (marriage)," senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said at a press conference in New Delhi.
28-year-old Shoaib, who is all set to tie the nuptial knot with 23-year-old tennis player Sania Mirza on April 15 in Hyderabad, has said the photographs of a girl sent to him by Ayesha were of another person and he had been tricked into marriage.
Gupta, who faced a volley of questions, admitted to the existence of a 'nikahnama' (the contract of marriage) and said "we do have the photographs of the girl which were sent to the cricketer through the Internet, but the same were not released to the media as she is married to someone else." The cricketer, who was to come to Delhi for deciding the future course of action, cancelled his trip due to the registration of an FIR and police taking his passport.
Shoaib was questioned by police today in Hyderabad on the criminal case lodged by Ayesha's family under sections 420 (cheating), 498A (cruelty against married woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
On being asked about the possible arrest of the former Pakistan caption, the lawyer cited a Supreme Court ruling and said, "Shoaib is co-operating with the police and hence, his arrest is not required at all." "The filing of anticipatory bail is not being discussed as his arrest is not warranted when he is co-operating in the investigation," he said. He said the FIR against Shoaib was contradictory in nature. If Shoaib married the girl as is being claimed, then the question of cheating does not arise.
So far as the offence of cruelty is concerned, the penal provision deals with married woman. "We dispute the existence of the marriage itself," he said. The issue had arisen in 2008 as well when some news reports were published on the issue. A legal notice was served to Siddiquis.
After replying to our notice, they did not pursue the matter further which had prompted us not to proceed with the filing of a defamation case against them, he said. PTI
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