Polygamy petition to be heard early

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider an early hearing of challenges to polygamy and “nikah halala” and said these petitions would come up for hearing before a Constitution bench after the federal government files its response.

The court’s response came after lawyers for a woman petitioner who challenged the practices, told a bench led by the Chief Justice of India that she was under pressure to withdraw.

Senior advocate V Shekhar and advocate Archana Pathak Dave told the bench that their client, Sameena Begum, had been threatened by her in-laws to either withdraw the plea or be thrown out of her matrimonial home. “We will look into it,” said CJI Dipak Misra, adding the petitions can be listed for a hearing after the Centre files its response.

Additional solicitor general

NOTICES HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO MINISTRIES OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND MINORITY AFFAIRS AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN

(ASG) Tushar Mehta told the court that the government will respond soon; it has already said it will support the petitions.

Last August, the SC banned the age-old practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ among Sunni Muslims. On March 26 this year, it referred to a larger bench, petitions challenging polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among Muslims.

While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, ‘nikah halala’ deals with the practice in which a Muslim woman, who wants to remarry her husband after a divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after the consummation of the union.