New Delhi, 26 April: In the matter of challenging the law made on triple talaq, the central government has said that the law was the need of the hour to ensure full implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision, in such a case the punishment of up to three years will help in preventing triple talaq.
The Central Government has said that despite triple talaq being declared unconstitutional, it has still not been completely banned. The Central Government has said in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court that even after the decision of the court, hundreds of cases of triple talaq have come to light across the country.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Triple Talaq Act. The board has said that making Talaq-e-biddat a crime is unconstitutional. Three petitions, including that of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, are already pending on this issue. The court had issued a notice on these on September 13, 2019.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for the petitioner, had said that why the provision of punishment has been made for the practise which has been declared null and void by the Supreme Court. He had said that the strict law with a three-year sentence was not in the interest of the family.
In the petition of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, there has been a demand to ban the law of triple talaq. The petition states that the recent law prohibiting triple talaq is not in consonance with the basic spirit of the Constitution. The petition, filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, has sought issuance of guidelines to ban this law. The petition states that there was no such circumstance to invoke this law as such divorce has already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The petition states that according to Islamic law, marriage is a civil contract and that contract is terminated through divorce. Therefore, fixing criminal liability for civil wrongs is a violation of the fundamental rights of Muslim men. It has been said in the petition that the provision of three years of imprisonment as per Section 4 of the Act is too much, as there is a provision of punishment less than that even in serious cases. According to section 7 of the Act, it is considered a non-bailable offence, while serious offenses like kidnapping etc. are bailable.
