On Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconstitute a Constitution Bench to hear a slew of petitions challenging the constitutionality of Muslim personal law's permissiveness of polygamy and Nikah Halala. Eight petitions were previously listed before a five-judge bench comprised of Justices Indira Banerjee, Hemant Gupta, Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, and Sudhanshu Dhulia. The National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Women, and the National Commission for Minorities had all received notices from the bench.

In March 2018, a 3-judge bench referred the cases to a 5-judge bench. Several Muslim women, including Naisah Hasan, Sabnam, Farjana, and Sameena Begum, as well as advocates Ashwini Upadhyay and Mohsin Kathiri, have filed petitions questioning the constitutional validity of polygamy and nikah-halala. One of the petitions was filed by the Muslim Women's Resistance Committee. The Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind has intervened in support of the practises. The petitioners have asked for a ban on polygamy and Nikah-Halala, claiming that they make Muslim wives exceedingly insecure and susceptible, infringing on their fundamental rights. They asked that Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act be declared unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 (equality), 15 (discrimination on the basis of religion), and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, inasmuch as it seeks to acknowledge and legitimise polygamy and nikah-halala.

Case Title: Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India

Citation: W.P.(C) No. 202/2018