- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: On January 29, the Supreme Court of India requested the Centre to submit an affidavit detailing the total number of FIRs registered and charge sheets filed under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalizes Triple Talaq and imposes a jail term of up to three years for husbands. A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar asked the Centre to provide information on the number of FIRs filed against Muslim men under this law and the cases currently pending in court.
During the proceedings, CJI Khanna inquired whether Solicitor General Tushar Mehta could provide the court with the total number of FIRs registered nationwide under this law. Mehta assured the court he would supply the necessary details.
Senior advocate MR Shamshad, representing some petitioners challenging the law, argued that FIRs are often not filed for months in matrimonial cases, and here, they are filed based solely on the utterance of words. In response, Advocate Nizam Pasha, also representing petitioners, pointed out that the law criminalizes mere words, while abandonment is not considered a crime in other communities. The Solicitor General countered that Triple Talaq is not practiced in other communities.
CJI Khanna noted that while none of the lawyers were defending the practice of Triple Talaq, they were questioning whether it should be criminalized now that the practice has been banned and no divorce can occur through the simultaneous utterance of “Talaq” three times.
The Supreme Court was hearing multiple petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2019 Act, filed by political figure Amir Rashadi Madni and two organizations, Samastha Kerala Jamaithul Ulema and Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, among others. The petitioners sought an interim stay on the law, which came into effect on August 1, 2019, after receiving presidential assent. Samastha Kerala Jamaithul Ulema argued that the Act violates fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and could lead to public mischief and societal polarization, claiming its primary aim is to punish Muslim husbands.
The Centre had previously filed an affidavit stating that criminal law could be used to uphold the sanctity of marriage. The government argued that Triple Talaq is not merely a private issue affecting one woman but a public wrong that undermines women’s rights and the institution of marriage. Triple Talaq was declared void by the Supreme Court on August 22, 2017.
