Police found his claims “incorrect”, but Meraj-ur-Rehman Sheikh was undaunted. He challenged the police verification report, filed in the magistrate’s court, Bandra, on Monday, claiming that he and Maanyata had a child.
He also alleged that the Qazi who dissolved their marriage was a “fraud”. The court is expected to give its final order on Sheikh’s application on Tuesday.
Sheikh is lodged in Arthur Road Jail. He was arrested six months ago for allegedly sending obscene sms-es to Bollywood actors like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Neha Dhupia and Kangana Ranaut.
Sheikh moved the court on Monday, seeking “prevention of physical contact” between his former wife, Dilnasheen Sheikh alias Maanyata, and actor Sanjay Dutt “till the finalisation” of his claims. “If they have any physical relation, it will be illegal as per Muslim Personal Law,” said Sheikh. The court did not pass any order on this application.
Claiming that Maanyata was six-month pregnant when she served him divorce notices — there were three between October and November 2003 — Sheikh said that no carrying woman would be granted divorce under the Muslim Personal Law, until she had delivered the child.
Sheikh told police that a baby boy, Mohammed Mustafa Rehman, was born to the couple on February 23, 2004, in Hyderabad. He said he had a video footage of the family — himself, Maanyata and their son — at his Hyderabad home, his son’s birth certificate and Maanyata’s hospital documents and bills as proof.
On her part, Maanyata told the cops that she and Sheikh never had a child. Police on Monday filed a verification report before the court, saying the allegations made by Sheikh against his former wife and her husband, Dutt, “appear incorrect”.
Maanyata, in her statement to police, said that after she came to know that Sheikh was a “conman, fraudster and a cheater”, she approached a Qazi for dissolution of their marriage.
Sheikh claimed that police were “under pressure” from Dutt. “That Qazi has performed several illegal divorces. There are cases pending against him in Oshiwara. How could he dissolve the marriage when she was pregnant,” he told the court.
Later, Sheikh appointed a lawyer, Tasneem Khan, who repeated his claims before the court. Magistrate Pankaj Shah asked her, “When his former wife has strongly said that their marriage is dissolved, you’ll have to justify the position of law.” He gave Khan time till Tuesday to get the law points ready.
