Monday, March 28, 2016

Supreme Court - 6 weeks report by Expert panel to abolish Islamic Polygamy and Triple Talaq

Mar 29 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)
GOVT REPLY SOUGHT - Unfazed apex court agrees to study legality of triple talaq
New Delhi:


Undeterred by the belligerent opposition to judicial scrutiny of Muslim personal law practices, the Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the legality of triple talaq by entertaining a Muslim woman's petition that this mode of divorce be declared unconstitutional as it allowed Muslim men to treat women like “chattel“.“Muslim women have been given talaq over Skype, Facebook and even text messages. There is no protection against such arbitrary di vorce. Such discrimination and inequality expressed in the form of unilateral triple talaq is abominable,“ Utta rakhand resident Shayara Bano's petition said.
Shayara was divorced through triple talaq after 13 years of marriage. Her peti tion was taken up on Mon day along with the suo motu proceedings initiated by the apex court to examine the need to protect Muslim wo men.
Shayara's counsel Ami Singh Chadha informed a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit that last year, a high-level committee appointed by the UPA government had submitted a report to the ministry of women and child development on the subject, `Women and the law: An assessment of family laws with focus on laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and succession'. The committee had recommended a ban on various practices that are purportedly Islamic but required reform, including talaq-ebidat (unilateral triple talaq) and polygamy, he said. The bench asked additional solicitor gener al Tushar Mehta to file the Centre's response to Shayara's petition along with a copy of the report within six weeks. It also asked National Commission for Women's counsel Aparna Bhat to file response. Interestingly, the court also sought Shayara's ex-husband's response.
The court's decision in dicates its inclination to examine the legality of triple talaq in defiance of strong opposition from All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat-e-Ulema, two influential Islamic bodies. Both had said Muslim personal law was Quranbased and not enacted by he legislature and hence was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny.
Shayara also chal enged the practice of po ygamy and said it was as evil a practice as the banned Sati system. “Religious officers and priests ike imams and maulvis who propagate, support and authorize practices ike triple talaq and polygamy are grossly misusing heir position, influence and power to subject Mus im women to such gross practices which treat them as chattels, thereby violating their right to equality, right to life and right to profess religion,“ her petition said.
She questioned the validity of triple talaq and polygamy while narrating her own experience. Filing the petition through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, she said she was married in Allahabad as per Shariat law in April 2002. Despite having two children from the marriage, she was physically and mentally abused for dowry by her husband and in-laws and was administered drugs that made her critically ill.
She was forced to return to her paternal home in April 2015 and six months later, her husband divorced her through triple talaq.
Mar 29 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)
`Polygamy as evil a practice as the banned Sati system'


Undeterred by the belligerent opposition to judicial scrutiny of Muslim personal law practices, the Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the legality of triple talaq by entertaining a Muslim woman's petition that this mode of divorce be declared unconstitutional as it allowed Muslim men to treat women like “chattel“.“Muslim women have been given talaq over Skype, Facebook and even text messages. There is no protection against such arbitrary di vorce. Such discrimination and inequality expressed in the form of unilateral triple talaq is abominable,“ Utta rakhand resident Shayara Bano's petition said.
Shayara was divorced through triple talaq after 13 years of marriage. Her peti tion was taken up on Mon day along with the suo motu proceedings initiated by the apex court to examine the need to protect Muslim wo men.
Shayara's counsel Ami Singh Chadha informed a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit that last year, a high-level committee appointed by the UPA government had submitted a report to the ministry of women and child development on the subject, `Women and the law: An assessment of family laws with focus on laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and succession'. The committee had recommended a ban on various practices that are purportedly Islamic but required reform, including talaq-ebidat (unilateral triple talaq) and polygamy, he said. The bench asked additional solicitor gener al Tushar Mehta to file the Centre's response to Shayara's petition along with a copy of the report within six weeks. It also asked National Commission for Women's counsel Aparna Bhat to file response. Interestingly, the court also sought Shayara's ex-husband's response.
The court's decision in dicates its inclination to examine the legality of triple talaq in defiance of strong opposition from All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat-e-Ulema, two influential Islamic bodies. Both had said Muslim personal law was Quranbased and not enacted by he legislature and hence was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny.
Shayara also chal enged the practice of po ygamy and said it was as evil a practice as the banned Sati system. “Religious officers and priests ike imams and maulvis who propagate, support and authorize practices ike triple talaq and polygamy are grossly misusing heir position, influence and power to subject Mus im women to such gross practices which treat them as chattels, thereby violating their right to equality, right to life and right to profess religion,“ her petition said.
She questioned the validity of triple talaq and polygamy while narrating her own experience. Filing the petition through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, she said she was married in Allahabad as per Shariat law in April 2002. Despite having two children from the marriage, she was physically and mentally abused for dowry by her husband and in-laws and was administered drugs that made her critically ill.
She was forced to return to her paternal home in April 2015 and six months later, her husband divorced her through triple talaq.



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