Sania, Shoaib Aur Woh - The Saga continues
The celebrity wedding can’t get more controversial. With just two weeks to go for the marriage of Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, the latter has got entangled in a legal battle marked by mudslinging on TV channels.
However, Sania’s family stood unfazed and are sticking to their plans to perform the nikah in Hyderabad on April 15.
Giving a new twist to the episode, Malik landed at the Banjara Hills residence of Sania late last night, reportedly to broker peace with his “first wife”, Ayesha Siddiqui, so that his marriage with the tennis star takes place without any hurdles.
Shoaib was spotted only once in the balcony of Sania’s residence and mostly remained indoors discussing marriage plans and at the same time trying to sort out the issue with Ayesha.
Former Cricketer Chamundeswarinath stepped in to find an amicable solution to the Shoaib-Ayesha affair through backchannel diplomacy even as the two sides engaged lawyers to fight it out in court in case a legal battle becomes inevitable. Ayesha’s family claimed to have a sent a defamation notice to Shoaib but his lawyer denied having received it. “Shoaib cannot marry Sania without divorcing Ayesha. We have prima facie evidence to prove that the marriage did take place,” Pakistani lawyer Farooq Hussain, said on behalf of Ayesha.
Interestingly, Shoaib has hired a Delhi-based lawyer, Ramesh Gupta, to plead his case. “There is no hurdle for the marriage. Shoaib did sign the nikahnama after he was sent a picture of a girl. But she was not Ayesha. Even assuming that the marriage did take place, Islamic law does not prevent Shoaib from marrying again,” Gupta argued, as the two lawyers slugged it out on TV.
As the controversy over Shoaib’s first marriage turned murky, channels went to town saying the marriage may not happen in Hyderabad and it could be in Dubai, a neutral venue. But sources in the know of things denied the marriage was being shifted out of Sania’s home town. Invites are getting ready and the venue could be one of the five star hotels in the city, the sources said.
