Revolutionary Judgment

India is one of a handful of countries where a Muslim man can divorce his wife in minutes by saying the word talaq (divorce) three times. The landmark court decision came in response to petitions challenging the so-called “triple talaq” custom. The cases were filed by five Muslim women who had been divorced in this way and two rights groups. Women’s rights campaigners have hailed the court’s decision as a historic win.

Triple talaq is a form of a divorce whereby a Muslim man legally divorces his wife by pronouncing “talaq” three times. Talaq (repudiation) finds its roots in Arabic, where the word means “undoing of or release of a knot”.  However, women have suffered gender injustice, violation of human rights etc, over all a huge backlash due to triple talaq which has been in practiced for more than 1400 years but several Muslim women who have been divorced, including on Skype and on WhatsApp, had challenged the bizarre practice. In a 3:2 majority verdict, the Apex Court called the practice “un-Islamic”.

The Supreme Court on 22.08.2017 declared in a majority judgement that the Muslim practice of triple talaq or instant divorce by uttering “talaq (divorce)” three times “illegal and sinful”. Debating over the issue of how constitutional is the ‘triple talaq’  the Supreme Court of India in a 5 judges bench, and came to a decision in the ratio 3:2, declaring the practice of “triple talaq” unconstitutional and void.

The Supreme Court cited 19 countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that have abolished the practice and question that why cannot India do away with this practice. Three of the five Supreme Court judges called the controversial practice “un-Islamic, arbitrary and unconstitutional”. One of the judges, Justice Kurien Joseph, said the practice was not an essential part of Islam and enjoyed no protection. The judges also said it was “manifestly arbitrary” to allow a man to “break down marriage whimsically and capriciously”.