Five-judge bench for triple talaq pleas

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that a five-judge Constitution Bench will decide whether the practice of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy were protected under the fundamental right to freedom of religion and a part of Muslim personal law which can be recognised as legally valid.

The Centre had asked the Supreme Court to decide whether these practices are protected under Article 25(1) of the Constitution (right to freedom of religion); whether Article 25(1) is subjected to fundamental rights of Indian Constitution and in particular Article 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution; whether personal “law” is protected under Article 13 of Constitution or not.

On Thursday, Chief Justice J.S. Khehar, heading a three-judge bench, said that another important facet of triple talaq is whether it is Islamic or un-Islamic and added that “we don’t want to rush through the hearing, we can’t scuttle all the points. We will give you further time to arrive at the issues. All the counsel give brief written submissions so that the court will get an idea of the points for determination.”