COURT TO HEAR MUSLIM WOMAN’S PLEA ON TALAQ

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a Muslim woman’s plea questioning two talaq [divorce] notices sent to her by her husband, which she claims, is in violation of the top court’s 2017 verdict holding the practice of instant divorce [triple talaq] illegal.

The petitioner also wants a direction to the police to register a criminal case against her husband. The woman, a Delhi resident, has alleged the husband sought divorce from her after she refused to accede to his demands for additional dowry and a car.

A bench of justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna agreed to take up the matter on an urgent basis following a request from the petitioner’s lawyer.

The woman’s lawyer MM Kashyap claimed the August 17, 2017 Supreme Court verdict had declared the practice of instant triple talaq as void if no reconciliatory efforts were made to resolve the discord between the couple. He said his client was issued two notices — first one was on March 29 and the second on May 2. “This was done not just in violation of the judgment but also in breach of the Sharia [Islamic law] that provides for mediation process,” he said.

In 2017, the top court had, by a 3:2 majority decision, ruled instant triple talaq “unconstitutional”, “arbitrary” and “not part of Islam”.

The petitioner got married on February 22, 2009 as per Muslim rites and customs and has two children of nine years [boy] and six years [girl]. On being asked as to why she did not move the high court, Kashyap said the husband had violated the top court’s verdict. The woman said that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, which was promulgated on January 12 to criminalise the practice of triple talaq, is also in her favour.