Triple talaq law: Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging the 2019 law
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 in November 2023.
When the matter of the petitions was raised before the the Division Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M.M. Sundresh today, the petitioners requested one matter to be treated as the lead matter in which all pleadings could be completed.
Accordingly, the court ordered the petition of Amir Rashadi Madni against Union of India to be treated as the lead petition for all pleadings to be filed in the said matter.
The enactment of the triple talaq law was made following the Apex Court's judgment of August 22, 2017 in Shayara Bano v. Union of India & Ors., (2017)9 SCC 1, whereby the bench declared the 'talaq-e-biddat' or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband, unconstitutional.
Pursuant to this ruling, the government brought in the legislation called for short the triple talaq law - Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 - which was passed by the parliament, criminalizing pronouncement of divorce in a such manner and prescribing a punishment of up to 3 years imprisonment for the same.
Challenging this legislation a batch of writ petitions were filed before the Supreme Court, but were lying pending until now.
The current lead petition has been filed by politician and Islamic scholar, Amir Rashadi Madni.
The Petitioner has contested the constitutional validity of the Act and has submitted that it is "un-islamic" and violative of Articles 13, 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution.
The Petitioner's argue that talaq-e-biddat had already been declared invalid and unconstitutional by the aforementioned judgment of the Supreme Court and it had no sanctity in law. The verdict was binding on all courts of the country in view of Article 141 of the Constitution and thus a legislation criminalizing such talaq was redendant. .
The Petitioner also argue that the Act runs counter to the ethos of the Preamble of the Constitution viz. Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Individual Dignity and has the potential of suffocating the secular character of the Constitution.
In addition, the petition submitted that since marriage in Islam is a civil contract, it may be terminated under certain circumstances, as held in Abdul Qadir v. Salima, (1886) 8 All 149. Therefore, imposition of a criminal liability for a civil wrong was in clear violation of Right to life with dignity and personal liberty of Muslim men.
It is also submitted in the petition that the Act offends the foundation of equal protection of laws under Article 14 of the Constitution to the extent that it is not based on intelligible differentia and threatens to violate the fundamental rights of a class of citizens.
The punishment according to the petitioner, prescribed by the Act is excessive and disproportionate given the fact that lesser punishments have been prescribed by the law makers for far graver offences punishable such as under Section 147, 304A IPC etc.
(With inputs from livelaw.in)