SC bench to begin hearing on triple talaq today

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is all set to begin hearing arguments from Thursday to decide the Constitutional validity of the practice of triple talaq.

Nikah halala and polygamy, practised among Muslims in the country, would also be examined during the hearing. Triple talaq is a practice where a husband can divorce his wife by saying talaq thrice, while nikah halala is barring remarriage with a divorced husband without an intervening marriage as mandated by the Muslim Personal Law.

Chief Justice J S Khehar will preside over the bench, which would also comprise Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman, U U Lalit and S Abdul Nazeer.

The main matter is listed as ‘Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality’ started suo motu by the apex court in 2015.  Five other writ petitions filed by Muslim women, led by Shayara Bano, are also awaiting the apex court’s consideration, along with a special leave petition against the Allahabad High Court's order that triple talaq is unilateral and bad in law.

The Union government had said in the court that triple talaq and polygamy denied the Muslim women full enjoyment of fundamental rights and should therefore be declared unconstitutional.

Such practices impact the social status and dignity of women and did not enjoy the sanction from Islam, the government claimed, saying they existed due to norms that prevailed several centuries ago.

The government also claimed many Islamic countries have stopped such  practices. Prominent NGO All India Muslim Personal Law Board and others have intervened in the matter, saying the court cannot adjudicate on a community’s personal laws.