Tag: Talaq-e-Hasan

  • Supreme Court admits pleas seeking ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ to be declared unconstitutional

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted the pleas seeking ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of “unilateral extrajudicial divorce” to be declared unconstitutional.

    ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ is a form of divorce among Muslims by which a man can dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the word ‘talaq’ once every month over a three-month period.

    A three-judge bench headed by Justice S K Kaul asked the Centre, National Commission for Women, National Human Rights Commission and others to file their responses within four weeks.

    “Counsel for the private respondent (husband) has entered appearance and seeks to affirm that he is not agreeable to settlement even on the issue of further alimony.

    List in the third week of January for final hearing,” the bench, also comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, said.

    The apex court was hearing three separate petitions, including the one filed by Ghaziabad resident Benazeer Heena, who claimed to be victims of unilateral extrajudicial Talaq-e-Hasan.

    They have also sought direction to the Centre to frame the guidelines for gender and religion-neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.

    The top court had earlier impeached the husbands of the petitioners and sought their response to the pleas filed by them.

    When the hearing commenced today, the lawyer appearing for Benazeer’s husband informed the court that no settlement was possible in the dispute with his wife.

    The bench then asked the parties to file their responses and said it will hear the case in the third week of January, 2023.

    The top court had in August said its primary focus is to provide relief to two women, who claimed to be victims of Talaq-e-Hasan, before deciding the constitutional validity of this form of divorce.

    Under Talaq-e-Hasan, a divorce gets formalised after the third utterance of the word ‘talaq’ in the third month if cohabitation has not resumed during this period.

    However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of talaq, the parties are assumed to have reconciled.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted the pleas seeking ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of “unilateral extrajudicial divorce” to be declared unconstitutional.

    ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ is a form of divorce among Muslims by which a man can dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the word ‘talaq’ once every month over a three-month period.

    A three-judge bench headed by Justice S K Kaul asked the Centre, National Commission for Women, National Human Rights Commission and others to file their responses within four weeks.

    “Counsel for the private respondent (husband) has entered appearance and seeks to affirm that he is not agreeable to settlement even on the issue of further alimony.

    List in the third week of January for final hearing,” the bench, also comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath, said.

    The apex court was hearing three separate petitions, including the one filed by Ghaziabad resident Benazeer Heena, who claimed to be victims of unilateral extrajudicial Talaq-e-Hasan.

    They have also sought direction to the Centre to frame the guidelines for gender and religion-neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.

    The top court had earlier impeached the husbands of the petitioners and sought their response to the pleas filed by them.

    When the hearing commenced today, the lawyer appearing for Benazeer’s husband informed the court that no settlement was possible in the dispute with his wife.

    The bench then asked the parties to file their responses and said it will hear the case in the third week of January, 2023.

    The top court had in August said its primary focus is to provide relief to two women, who claimed to be victims of Talaq-e-Hasan, before deciding the constitutional validity of this form of divorce.

    Under Talaq-e-Hasan, a divorce gets formalised after the third utterance of the word ‘talaq’ in the third month if cohabitation has not resumed during this period.

    However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of talaq, the parties are assumed to have reconciled.

  • Plea against ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’: SC refuses to accord urgent hearing

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to accord an urgent hearing on a plea that has sought to declare the practice of ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of ‘unilateral extra-judicial talaq’ as void and unconstitutional claiming them to be arbitrary and irrational.

    A vacation bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Bela M Trivedi asked the counsel, who mentioned the matter for urgent listing, to mention it before the bench next week.

    In ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’, talaq is pronounced once a month, over three months.

    If cohabitation is not resumed during this period, divorce gets formalised after the third utterance in the third month.

    However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of ‘talaq’, the parties are assumed to have reconciled and the pronouncement of ‘talaq’ in the first or second instance is treated as having been revoked.

    A Muslim woman has filed the plea, through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, and also sought a direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for gender and religion-neutral uniform grounds and procedure of divorce for all citizens.

    Senior advocate Pinky Anand mentioned the matter for urgent listing and told the bench that the petition relates to a challenge to ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’.

    She said two notices have been issued to the petitioner for “Talaq-e-Hasan’ through the lawyer and the third notice will be the final one.”

    “When was the notice issued?” the bench asked.

    The senior lawyer said the first notice was issued on April 19 and now, the second notice has been issued.

    “We will keep it on the re-opening. There is no urgency,” the bench observed.

    The counsel said by that time, everything will be over.

    “All right, you can mention it in the next week,” the bench said, adding, “You can take your chance next week”.

    In her plea, the petitioner has said that the practice of “Talaq-e-Hasan’ and other forms of “unilateral extra-judicial talaq” is “neither harmonious with the modern principles of human rights and gender equality nor an integral part of the Islamic faith”.

    It claimed that many Islamic nations have restricted such practice, while it “continues to vex” the Indian society in general and Muslim women like the petitioner in particular.

    The plea has also sought to declare section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 as void and unconstitutional for allegedly being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, and 25 of the Constitution in so far as it validates the practice of ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and other forms of ‘unilateral extra-judicial talaq’.

  • Woman seeks intervention in SC in plea against ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A woman has moved the Supreme Court against a petition seeking to declare ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of ‘unilateral extra-judicial talaq’ as void and unconstitutional.

    The plea, seeking intervention, filed by one Qurrat Ul Ain Latif, said the original applicant has benefitted from extra-judicial divorce permissible under the Shariat and that she was able to exit from a bad marriage without having to go to the court and add to the pendency of judicial proceedings.

    “The applicant is filing the present application for the limited purpose of demonstrating to this Hon’ble Court that a Writ Petition with broadly the same issue is pending before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi where notice has been issued.”

    “Therefore, the Petitioner may be well advised to urge her grounds before the High Court, which is seized of the issue. It is stated, if the High Court gets the first chance to adjudicate, then the party retains a valuable right to appeal,” the plea seeking intervention said.

    The original petition, filed by Ghaziabad resident, Benazeer Heena, who claimed to be a victim of “unilateral extra-judicial Talaq-E-Hasan”, also sought a direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.

    In Talaq-e-Hasan, talaq is pronounced once a month, over a period of three months.

    If cohabitation is not resumed during this period, divorce gets formalised after the third utterance in the third month.

    However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of talaq, the parties are assumed to have reconciled.

    The first/second utterances of talaq are deemed invalid.

    The petitioner, who claimed to have been given such a divorce, contended that the police and authorities told her that Talaq-e-Hasan is permitted under Sharia.

    “The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, conveys a wrong impression that the law sanctions Talaq-E-Hasan and all other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq, which is grossly injurious to the fundamental rights of married Muslim women and offends Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India and the international conventions on civil and human rights,” the petition, filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, submitted.