In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court today declared the practice of “triple talaq” unconstitutional.
In a 3-2 majority judgement, a five-Judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, Justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Uday Umesh Lalit and Abdul Nazeer held that ‘triple talaq’ violated Articles 14 and 15 of Constitution.
While Justices Nariman and Lalit ruled that triple talaq is unconstitutional and violative of Article 14, Justice Joseph struck down the practice on the ground that it goes against Shariat and the basic tenets of the Quran.
However, Chief Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer disagreed with Justices Nariman ,Lalit and Joseph and ruled that “triple talaq” cannot be struck down on the ground of being violative of Article 14, since there is no state action.
Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer also directed the government to frame legislation to regulate the practice of “triple talaq”.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice JS Khehar had reserved its verdict on May 18 after a six-day marathon hearing on triple talaq case during the summer vacation.
The petitioners had challenged the practice of ‘triple talaq’ in which the husband pronounces ‘talaq’ thrice in one go, sometimes even by phone or a text message, to get a divorce.
36-year-old Shayara Bano, the lead petitioner in this case, was handed over a talaqnama (divorce) through post by her husband while she was with her parents at their home in Kashipur, Uttarakhand.
Similarly, the husband of 30-year-old Ishrat Jahan, another petitioner in this case, was given talaq three times over phone by her husband who allegedly took away her four children, leaving her at the mercy of her extended family in Howrah.
