Supreme Court Strikes Down Triple Talaq, Calls It ‘Unconstitutional’

The Supreme Court ruled the practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ unconstitutional in a 3:2 verdict on Tuesday morning.

Justices RF Nariman, Uday Umesh Lalit and Kurian Joseph said that the concept of immediately divorcing wives by just saying talaq thrice is unconstitutional. Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer referred the matter to Parliament, saying courts could not interfere in “personal laws”.

Several Muslim women had approached the Supreme Court to put an end to the practice.

‘’This form of talaq is manifestly arbitrary in the sense that the marital tie can be broken capriciously and whimsically by a Muslim man without any attempt at reconciliation so as to save it,” Justices Nariman and Lalit wrote in their separate judgement. “This form of talaq must, therefore, be held to be violative of the fundamental right contained under Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” they wrote.

Justice Joseph also held the practice unconstitutional is his separate verdict.

Chief Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer took a different view. ‘’Article 25 obliges all Constitutional Courts to protect ‘personal laws’ and not to find fault therewith. Interference in matters of ‘personal law’ is clearly beyond judicial examination,” the two said in their minority judgement.

The two judges referred the matter to Parliament to make a law for it and also put an injunction on triple talaq for six months.

The majority view of the five-judge bench will be the final verdict.