AIMPLB to bring in model ‘nikahnamah’

LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) intends to give final touches to the model ‘nikahnama’ (marriage contract), which it has been mulling over for over two decades, to curb instant triple talaq struck down by the Supreme Court.

At its plenary session in Hyderabad on February 9, the board plans to introduce a provision in the form of an undertaking by the groom that he will not resort to instant triple divorce. “We will finalise the draft of this model ‘nikahnama’ during the meeting,” confirmed the board’s spokesperson, Maulana Khalilur Rehman Sajjad Nomani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pitching for early passage of the bill, which criminalises instant triple divorce, in the ongoing budget session of Parliament. The AIMPLB has pinned its hopes on getting support from some BJP allies to stall it in the Rajya Sabha.

The Hyderabad meeting will also discuss strategy to drum up support for the demand raised by the Congress that the bill should be referred to a select committee of Parliament. In its campaign to get the bill stalled, a delegation of the board has already met and sought support of opposition par- ties like AIADMK, DMK, Telugu Desam, TMC and BSP. The AIMPLB, the apex body of Muslims on religious issues, also plans to knock on the doors of BJP allies Shiv Sena and Akali Dal soon to seek their support, according to AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani.