TRIPLE TALAQ

The landmark judgement by a Supreme Court Constitution

Bench, outlawing instant divorce by Muslims is a turning point
for the Indian Republic. Triple Talaq or Talaq-e-biddat is a
practice under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by
simply uttering “Talaq ‘’ three times. The pronouncement can
be written or oral which doesn’t even require the presence of
wife while pronouncement.
The fight against Triple Talaq took a major turn with
a PIL filed by a Muslim woman, Shayara Bano, seeking a ban on
Triple Talaq. For the past two years, many organizations like
Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan have launched campaigns
against Triple Talaq and Nikah halala - where divorced women
have to consummate their second marriage in order to go back
to their first husband. In March, a petition was signed wherein
over 1 million Indian Muslims signed to end Triple Talaq. During
the hearings before the final judgement, Supreme Court
declared Triple Talaq as ‘’the worst form of marriage
dissolution ‘’. The issue was raised on grounds of justice,
gender equality, human rights and secularism. Supreme Court
consulted and cited that 19 out of 22 Islamic States including
Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have abolished Triple Talaq. It was
held that Triple Talaq violated Article 14 and 21 of the Indian
Constitution. Finally on 22 August ,2017; Triple Talaq was
declared unconstitutional by a 5 judge panel of Supreme Court
by a majority of 3:2 .
However, as the common practice is ‘taking
credit for anything good that happens’; BJP claims credit for
this judgement. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said that ‘’political will
of NDA Government led to the judgement, otherwise, the fate
of this case could have been same as that of 1985 judgement of
Shah Bano case. The Government is basically trying to take
political mileage from this issue. This was a long-term strategy
of BJP Government to attract the votes of Muslim women for
Uttar Pradesh elections where BJP actually won and also for the
upcoming elections in Gujrat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
It will also help them grab votes in Lok Sabha elections of 2019.
There is yet another side to it. All India
Muslim Personal Law Board and many other Muslims defend
Triple Talaq and urged the court to stay out of Muslim personal
laws. However, the fact is that the judgement of Supreme Court
is not against the religion of Islam. Rather, the true meaning
and spirit of Quran has been outlined on anvil of individualism,
rule of law and human rights. This decision is in favor of women
rights. It will protect the dignity of women and promote gender
equality. Banning of Triple Talaq will make Muslim women
financially and socially secure. But, as said by Farha Faiz, ‘this is
a Half victory’ unless the government implements a concrete
law to lay down punishments to be given to offenders.