The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and other authorities on a petition seeking uniform safeguards for all forms of divorce under Muslim personal law. The petition also challenges the constitutional validity of Talaq-e-Hasan and seeks a ban on unilateral divorce outside court, news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was informed by the petitioner’s counsel that the validity of Talaq-e-Hasan had also been challenged in the plea. The court linked the petition with a separate pending case filed by a Muslim woman challenging the Talaq-e-Hasan pronounced by her husband.
What Is Talaq-e-Hasan?
Talaq-e-Hasan is a form of divorce under Muslim personal law in which a husband pronounces talaq once a month over three months. The divorce becomes final after the third pronouncement if the couple has not resumed living together.
If the couple reconciles and resumes cohabitation after the first or second pronouncement, the divorce process is considered withdrawn.
The latest petition has asked the Supreme Court to declare Talaq-e-Hasan and other forms of unilateral divorce outside court as practices that should be prohibited.
It has also sought economic and social protection for divorced women and their children who may be affected by arbitrary divorce practices, including safeguards with retrospective and continuing effect.
Plea Seeks Uniform Divorce Guidelines
The petitioner has urged the court to direct the Centre to establish legally enforceable procedures for all forms of talaq under Muslim personal law.
The petition seeks safeguards to ensure “fairness, reconciliation, transparency and protection of the fundamental rights of women guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution”.
Article 14 guarantees equality before the law, Article 15 prohibits discrimination on specified grounds, including sex and religion, while Article 21 protects life and personal liberty.
The plea also challenges Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, insofar as it recognises Talaq-e-Hasan as a valid form of divorce. It asks the court to declare the provision unconstitutional to that extent.
Additionally, the petition seeks comprehensive, gender-just and religion-neutral safeguards for marriage dissolution under personal laws.
Petition Raises Concerns Over Polygamy
The plea also questions the absence of statutory safeguards regulating polygamy under Muslim personal law.
It argues that allowing a Muslim man to enter into multiple marriages without adequate protections for existing wives may violate their rights to equality, dignity, informed consent and financial security.
The petitioner has asked the court to declare such an arrangement arbitrary and discriminatory under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.
The petition further challenges entering into another marriage without the free, prior and informed consent of an existing spouse, particularly when the intention to marry again is concealed.
Supreme Court Had Struck Down Triple Talaq in 2017
In 2017, the Supreme Court declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional, holding the practice arbitrary and contrary to women’s fundamental rights.
The latest petition seeks judicial scrutiny of Talaq-e-Hasan and other forms of unilateral divorce, along with the legal protections available to Muslim women and children affected by the dissolution of marriage.
