Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik does not want to tarnish the image of the girl whom he had taken to be Ayesha Siddiqui by releasing her photographs in public, his lawyer said here Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cShoaib has specifically told me not to disclose the photographs of the girl as it will harm her image,\u201d senior advocate Ramesh Gupta told IANS.<\/p>\n
The cricketer approached the 60-year-old New Delhi-based Gupta, who has appeared in high-profile cases like the BMW hit-and-run case and the Rahul Mahajan drug overdose case, to represent him.<\/p>\n
Gupta said that Shoiab had told him not to file for anticipatory bail since he was cooperating with the Hyderabad police\u2019s investigations into the complaint by Ayesha, who claims to be his first wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have talked to Shoaib and he said that he is cooperating with police and that there was no need of filing an anticipatory bail application,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, the cricketer insisted he was innocent and would not leave India until he was cleared of charges of marrying Ayesha that emerged soon after the announcement of his April 15 marriage to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.<\/p>\n
Shoaib has rejected Ayesha\u2019s demand for a divorce, saying he signed a \u2018nikahnama\u2019 or marriage document for marrying a girl whose photographs he had been sent.<\/p>\n
Gupta said that any legal action against Ayesha would be decided Tuesday when Malik\u2019s brother-in-law Imran Zafar arrives in Delhi. He confirmed that the cricketer\u2019s passport has been seized by Hyderabad police.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have served a legal notice on Ayesha\u2019s family in 2008 as well but did not pursue it further as everything went on smoothly but now when so much hype is created, we will definitely find a suitable legal remedy,\u201d Gupta said.<\/p>\n
Ayesha Sunday lodged a police complaint in Hyderabad against Shoaib for cheating her and going ahead with his second marriage with Sania without divorcing her. She filed the complaint under sections 498 A (harassment), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.<\/p>\n
Questioning the basis of the case lodged by the police, Gupta said: \u201cIf the marriage had taken place, only then would section 498 A be applicable. But in this case, it is a perfect case of mistaken identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawyer further added that if the marriage between Ayesha and Shoaib took place, then how could a case of cheating be lodged.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage, when both parties (Ayesha and Shoaib) are issuing contrasting statements, nothing can be said, but a compromise formula can always be worked out,\u201d Gupta said.<\/p>\n
The Siddiquis claim that Shoaib married their daughter Ayesha in 2002, but has not divorced her till date.<\/p>\n
The Hyderabad-based family had also produced pictures of Shoaib-Ayesha\u2019s nikahnama (marriage certificate) which states that their marriage was solemnised on June 3, 2002.<\/p>\n
Shoaib, on the other hand, has denied being married to Ayesha. He, however, admitted to talking to a girl named Ayesha over the telephone, but said he has never seen or met the girl.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if they did so, it is not legally binding on my client\u2019s part. I have consulted a few Muslim priests and obtained documents from them which also substantiate our claims of the marriage being illegal,\u201d Gupta said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik does not want to tarnish the image of the girl whom he had taken to be Ayesha Siddiqui by releasing her photographs in public, his lawyer said here Monday. \u201cShoaib has specifically told me not to disclose the photographs of the girl as it will harm her image,\u201d senior advocate Ramesh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-law-news"],"yoast_head":"\n