The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought data on the number of cases filed by Muslim women under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalizes instant triple talaq.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar was hearing petitions challenging the 2019 law, specifically its provisions that criminalize the practice of triple talaq.
The Court also inquired about the number of pending triple talaq cases and any challenges before High Courts against the legislation.
"Parties to file written submissions on both sides. Check up and give us data on number of FIRs registered," the Court ordered after a brief preliminary hearing.
The Court further noted that the petitioners were contesting only the criminalization of the practice, rather than advocating for its continuation.
"I am sure none of the lawyers here are saying that the practice is correct, but what they are saying is that whether it can be criminalised when the practice is banned and no divorce can take place by uttering talaq three times at once," CJI Khanna remarked.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta argued that the statistics would be crucial in determining whether the regressive practice persists and whether women are stepping forward.
"This is required to protect the women and should be deterrent. On the argument of proportionality (raised by petitioners), there are many (other) offences which carry more than 3 years imprisonment," he submitted.
Advocate Nizam Pasha, representing the petitioners, contended that abandoning one’s wife is not a criminal offense in any other community. In response, SG Mehta stated.
"Triple Talaq is also not prevalent in other communities."
Senior Advocate MR Shamshad, also representing the petitioners, argued that while FIRs in matrimonial cases often remain unregistered for months, in this instance, an FIR is filed merely for an utterance.
The Court then adjourned the matter with the order that these batch of cases will be shown in the causelist as 'Challenge to constitutional vires of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019'
The Court observed that the petitioners' lawyers did not appear to be defending the practice itself.
In August 2017, the Supreme Court, in Shayara Bano v. Union of India, declared the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) unconstitutional, holding it violative of Articles 14 and 15.
Following this ruling, Parliament enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalizes instant triple talaq. Under this law, any husband who pronounces instant triple talaq can face criminal prosecution.
Subsequently, multiple petitions were filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Act.
The petitioners argue that the law introduces a penal provision targeting a specific group based on religious identity, potentially leading to societal polarization and disharmony. They contend that since the Supreme Court has already declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional, the law serves no meaningful purpose. Instead, they assert that its primary intent is not to abolish the practice but to punish Muslim husbands.
Website designed, developed and maintained by webexy