No, no, no from 3 judges as SC stops instant triple talaq
SPLIT VERDICT Majority strikes down instant divorce, two call for sixmonth moratorium, legislation to regulate talaq
The Supreme Court banned on Tuesday a controversial Islamic practice of instant divorce as arbitrary and unconstitutional, in a landmark verdict for gender justice that will stop Muslim men calling off a marriage on a whim.
In a split verdict, three of the five all-male judges said the practice of saying “talaq”, or divorce, three times in one go – sometimes even over email and WhatsApp – violated women’s right to equality and was not integral to Islam.
The dissenting note came from Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and justice S Abdul Nazeer, who argued instant talaq should be suspended and the government asked to bring a law to regulate the practice within six months. The majority verdict overrides the minority view. “What is bad in theology is bad in law as well,” said justice Kurian Joseph who was part of the majority view.
The verdict is a shot in the arm of the BJP, which can showcase it to moderate voters as a vindication of its stand on gender justice, as well as to counter accusations of Muslim groups that it was backing the issue to malign Islam.
Debate over the law had pitted an unlikely coalition of Muslim women, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP which wanted the practice quashed, against some Muslim groups.
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