The Indian parliament outlawed Triple Talaq in 2019 and the practice was criminalized in India.
But now, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by Benazeer Heena, a Ghaziabad resident, claiming to be a victim of “unilateral extrajudicial Talaq-E-Hasan”.
She pleaded that Talaq-E-Hasan, popularly known as triple talaq, and all other forms of “unilateral extra-judicial talaq” shall be declared void and unconstitutional. She said that these talaqs were arbitrary and irrational and they violated fundamental rights.
Under Talaq-E-Hasan, talaq is pronounced thrice, once each month. Divorce is final when the third talaq is pronounced if the cohabitation between the couple is not continued in those 3 months. If the cohabitation is continued anywhere before the third pronouncement of talaq, the divorce stands cancelled as the prior pronouncements become invalid.
The practice is discriminatory as divorce can only be given by men. The practice is misused to extract dowry from women and their families.
Further, she urged that the government should be directed to frame guidelines on neutral and uniform grounds of divorce procedures for all citizens.
The petition added that many Islamic nations do not recognize such practices anymore, but in India, the practice is very much alive which particularly harms the Muslim women in the country.
Along with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a few more countries have banned triple talaq such as Turkey, Cyprus, Tunisia, Algeria, Malaysia, Jordon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Brunei, the UAE, Indonesia, Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Kuwait.
It noted that these practices put the women in a very poor situation along with their children. And women belonging to poor economic conditions tend to suffer a lot.
Petitioner, the victim of Talaq-E-Hasan, argued that she was told by authorities and police that such divorce is allowed under Sharia.
“The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, conveys a wrong impression that the law sanctions Talaq-E-Hasan and all other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq, which is grossly injurious to the fundamental rights of married Muslim women and offends Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India and the international conventions on civil and human rights,” PTI reports about the petition submitted.
