New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and tagged it with a batch of cases on a writ petition filed by a Muslim woman from Howrah challenging the constitutional validity of ”triple talaq.” The petitioner’s husband of 15 years had called her on phone from Dubai, uttered the word ”talaq” thrice and disconnected the call.
Petitioner Ishrat Jahan, who has four kids aged between seven and 12 years that were forcibly taken away from her, has sought a declaration from the apex court, saying that Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, was unconstitutional, as it violated fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 21 (life) and 25 (religion) of the Constitution.
The woman has also opposed and tried to stop her husband Murtuza’s second marriage. She says she does not accept talaq over phone. “I want justice. I want my three daughters and one son back from who
have been snatched by my husband; he should also give maintenance for their upbringing.”
Her lawyer Nazia Elahi Khan, also a divorcee, said cases of talaq over email, on phone and via text messages were on the rise. “I hope the Muslim Personal Law Board will support our case as talaq over phone is not Islamic,” she said.
In her petition, Ishrat Jahan has raised the question whether an arbitrary and unilateral divorce through triple talaq can deprive the wife of her rights in the matrimonial home as also her claim to custody of her children.
On July 29, another Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice had favoured a wider debate on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the triple talaq and issued notices to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and others.
However, this is not first such petition that has been presented before the Supreme Court. Uttarakhand based Shayara Banu, another Muslim petitioner, and the Rashtrawadi Muslim Mahila Sangh, through its president Farah Faiz, have raised similar queries.
All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board President Shaista Ambar has demanded scrapping of the triple talaq system. Talaq-e-bidat takes place when a Muslim man divorces his wife by pronouncing the word “talaq” more than once in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations), or in a tuhr after coitus, or pronounces an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple talaq).
The Centre has set up a high-level committee to review the status of women in India, and according to reports, has recommended a ban on the practice of oral, unilateral and triple talaq (divorce) and polygamy.
Earlier, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamiat-e-Ulema had defended the practice of triple talaq, saying it was part of the Quran-dictated personal law which was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny.
