Triple talaq: Muslim board tells Supreme Court not to interfere

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Friday justified the “triple talaq” form of divorce in the Supreme Court while cautioning the apex court from interfering with personal laws under the guise of social reform and bringing in a kind of Uniform Civil Code through the backdoor.

“The Uniform Civil Code (Article 44 of the Constitution),” it said in its rejoinder to a batch of petitions challenging the legal validity of triple talaq, “is a directive principle and not enforceable. The personal laws are protected by Article 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution as they are acts done in pursuance of a religion... Issues of Muslim Personal Law raised in the Supreme Court are for Parliament to decide.”

Justifying the right of Muslim men to divorce their wives through “triple talaq”, the Board said, “When serious discords develop in a marriage and husband wants to get rid of wife, legal compulsions and time consuming judicial process ...in extreme cases husband may resort to illegal criminal ways of getting rid of her by murdering her. In such situations triple talaq is a better recourse... Marriage is a contract in which both parties are not physically equal. Male is stronger and female is a weaker sex. Securing separation through court takes a long time and deters prospects of remarriage.” The Board said that polygamy is not for gratifying men’s lust, but a social need, and that though triple talaq is considered to be a sin, it is still a valid and effective form of divorce that is accepted by all the four schools of jurists, namely Hanafi, Shafai, Maliki and Hanbali.

Opposing the move to bring a Uniform Civil Code, the Board said social reform has to be brought in gradually, keeping in view if the community is ready for the reform. The framers of the Constitution, it said, were fully conscious of the difficulties in enforcing a Uniform Civil Code and thus refrained from enforcing it.

Asking the court not to interfere with freedom of religion, the Board said the issues raised in the batch of petitions had already been decided by the court and hence they need not be re-opened again. It said all the sources of Muslim personal law have been approved and endorsed by the Quran and the practices of marriage, divorce and maintenance etc. are based on sources all of which flow from the Quran itself.

It also submitted that the rights of Muslim women are already protected by virtue of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, and this law has been upheld by the apex court.

“As per the Sharia, the objective behind marriage is to ensure for the couple a peaceful, cordial life. However, the Sharia recognises that in cases where both the parties develop such bitterness and hate that it is impossible for them to live together, it negates the very purpose of marriage. In such a situation the policy of Islam has been that it is better to dissolve the marital bond peacefully which will enable both of them to start their life afresh,”the Board said.

The Board also drew the court’s attention to the anomalies in Hindu laws leading to dowry deaths of women etc.