Triple talaq, Babri Masjid on agenda of AIMPLB meet ›

›We are not completely opposed to the triple talaq bill per se, but we have our own concerns over certain portions that infringe on the fundamental rights of men and cause harm to women and children MAULANA SYED KHALIL-UR-RAHMAN SAJJAD NOMANI , AIMPLB executive council member

HYDERABAD: The three-day general body meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) beginning in Hyderabad on Friday will deliberate on the controversial triple talaq bill and the strategy to be adopted with regard to the Babri Masjid case.

The crucial meeting will be presided over by AIMPLB chief Moulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi and will discuss other issues pertaining to Muslim Personal Law.

The All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party is hosting the three-day event in which about 600 scholars and eminent personalities are expected to participate. The event will culminate in a public meeting on Sunday.

AIMPLB executive council member Maulana Syed Khalilur-rahman Sajjad Nomani said the board would welcome the triple talaq bill if its flaws and loopholes were removed.

“We are not completely opposed to the triple talaq bill per se, but we have our own concerns over certain portions that infringe on the fundamental rights of men and cause harm to women and children,” he said.

Giving an instance, the Moulana said the bill made instant triple talaq a cognisable and non-bailable offence.

“It means anybody can complain and the police can register a case suo motu and initiate action. If a person is arrested by the police but his wife says nothing of that kind has happened, the police will ask the man to prove his innocence in court,” he said.

Asked if they would challenge the bill in court, he said, “In a democracy, we have to explore all possible means to prevent the enforcement of an Act that is detrimental to the community’s interests.”

16 CLERICS MEET SRI SRI Sixteen Muslim clerics and intellectuals met Art of Living (AOL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bangalore on Thursday to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid-ram Janambhoomi dispute, said AOL officials and Muslim delegates.

“There can be no better way to resolve the issue, if all the parties agree to a mutuallyagreeable settlement...” said Maulana Nadvi. Ravi Shankar is set to arrive in Ayodhya in March for a meeting with saints, hardliners and clerics in his effort to find a settlement to the dispute.