After a legal battle spanning more than five years, a Dhaka court acquitted cricketer Nasir Hossain and his wife, Tamima Sultana Tammi, of all charges related to allegations of marrying without a valid divorce, adultery, inducement, and defamation.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam delivered the verdict at around 12:30 pm on Wednesday, June 10. The court ruled that the allegations against the couple were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that sufficient reliable evidence was not presented.
The court found that prosecutors failed to present adequate and credible evidence to support the charges brought under various sections of the Penal Code. As a result, the allegations could not be legally established.
A key issue in the case was whether Tamima had legally divorced her former husband, Rakib Hasan, before marrying Nasir Hossain.
The court referred to an Appellate Division judgment, which states that a divorce does not automatically become invalid simply because a divorce notice was not received by the chairman of a union parishad.
The complaint alleged that Tamima's divorce certificate was forged. However, the court noted that no acceptable evidence was presented to prove that the divorce certificate, divorce notice, or postal records were fake.
The original documents and postal receipts were submitted, and neither the complainant nor investigators produced expert evidence showing that any signatures or documents had been forged.
The court observed that Tamima divorced Rakib in 2016 and later went to Saudi Arabia. She married Nasir Hossain in 2021.
According to the court's review, the investigation report failed to clarify Tamima's relationship status with Rakib during that period or provide evidence showing that the previous marriage remained active.
Referring to High Court principles, the judge observed that the conduct and living arrangements of former spouses are important indicators when determining whether a divorce was effective.
After examining the evidence, the court concluded that Tamima had lawfully separated from her former husband before marrying Nasir.
Based on the evidence and legal principles reviewed during the trial, the court concluded that Tamima Sultana Tammi had properly divorced her former husband and later legally married Nasir Hossain. Therefore, there was no basis to consider their marriage illegal.
The case was filed on February 24, 2021, by Tamima's former husband, Rakib Hasan. He alleged that Tamima married Nasir Hossain while still legally married to him and claimed that the incident caused personal, social, and mental harm to him and his daughter.
The allegations surfaced after photos of Nasir and Tamima's wedding circulated on social media on February 14, 2021.
The trial included testimony from 10 witnesses. Following the completion of witness testimony on April 16, the court reviewed the evidence and ultimately acquitted both accused due to a lack of sufficient proof.
With the verdict, a widely discussed legal dispute that drew public attention for several years has formally come to an end.
