India’s top court on Tuesday banned a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives instantly, saying it was unconstitutional.

Victims of the practice known as “triple talaq”, whereby Muslim men can divorce their wives by reciting the word talaq (divorce) three times, had approached the Supreme Court to ask for a ban.

Triple talaq “is not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality,” a panel of Supreme Court judges said.

The five judges were from India’s major faiths — Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

In their ruling, they said it was “manifestly arbitrary” to allow a man to “breakdown (a) marriage whimsically and capriciously”.

“What is sinful under religion cannot be valid under law,” they said.

The practice had been challenged in lower courts but it was the first time India’s Supreme Court had considered whether triple talaq was legal.

India allows religious institutions to govern matters of marriage, divorce and property inheritance in the multi-faith nation, enshrining triple talaq as a legal avenue for its 180 million Muslims to end unions.

But the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had backed the petitioners in this landmark case, declaring triple talaq unconstitutional and discriminatory against women.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long pushed for a uniform civil code, governing Indians of all religions, to be enforced.

But the issue remains highly sensitive in India, where religious tensions often lead to violence.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a grouping of Islamic organisations, had opposed any efforts to ban triple talaq.

Some Islamic scholars say there is no mention of triple talaq in the Koran, which instead details a different process for divorce based on mediation. </s> NEW DELHI
• India's Supreme Court yesterday formally opened a hearing on the controversial Islamic practice of instant divorce.

The country's top court said it will determine whether the practice, known as triple talaq, is part of the fundamental right to religion of the Muslim community.

"If we come to a conclusion that triple talaq is part of (the) fundamental right to religion, we will not interfere," the apex court said, according to the Times of India. "We will also determine whether triple talaq is sacramental and whether it can be enforced as a fundamental right."

India is one of a handful of countries in the world where a Muslim man can divorce his wife in minutes by saying the word talaq (divorce) three times. Activists say the practice discriminates against women.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thrown his weight behind triple talaq reform, reported the Hindustan Times, saying it was his administration's duty to ensure the rights of Muslim women were upheld.

Many Muslim groups, however, oppose the court's intervention in their religious matters. A proposal by the government to replace this form of oral divorce, they argued, would discriminate against them.

According to the BBC, the opposing sides have been given three days each to argue their cases before a multi-faith bench of judges: a Hindu, a Sikh, a Christian, a Zoroastrian and a Muslim. The hearing will end by May 19, and a judgment on the constitutional validity of triple talaq is expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion governing marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance, reported the Hindustan Times. While the Hindu law overhaul began in the 1950s, activists have long argued that Muslim personal law remains mostly unchanged. </s> India’s top court has banned a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives instantly, saying it was unconstitutional.

Victims of the practice known as “triple talaq”, whereby Muslim men can divorce their wives by reciting the word talaq (divorce) three times, had approached the supreme court to ask for a ban.

Triple talaq “is not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”, a panel of judges said.

“It’s a very happy day for us. It’s a historic day,” said Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Indian Muslim Women’s Movement, which was part of the legal battle to end the practice.

“We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature,” she added.

The five supreme court judges were from India’s major faiths – Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. In their ruling, they said it was “manifestly arbitrary” to allow a man to “break down [a] marriage whimsically and capriciously”.

“What is sinful under religion cannot be valid under law,” they said.

The practice had been challenged in lower courts but it was the first time India’s supreme court had considered whether triple talaq was legal.

India allows religious institutions to govern matters of marriage, divorce and property inheritance in the multi-faith nation, enshrining triple talaq as a legal avenue for its 180 million Muslims to end unions.

More than 20 Muslim countries, including neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned the practice while in India, the practice has continued. While most Hindu personal law has been overhauled and codified over the years, Muslim laws have been left to religious authorities and left largely untouched.

The Hindu nationalist government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, had backed the petitioners in this landmark case, declaring triple talaq unconstitutional and discriminatory against women. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party has long pushed for a uniform civil code, governing Indians of all religions, to be enforced.

The issue remains highly sensitive in India, where religious tensions often lead to violence.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a grouping of Islamic organisations, had told the court that while they considered the practice of triple talaq wrong, they opposed any court intervention and asked that the matter be left to the community to tackle.

Progressive Muslim activists had criticised the board’s position. “This is the demand of ordinary Muslim women for over 70 years and it’s time for this country to hear their voices,” activist Feroze Mithiborwala told New Delhi television station.

Some Islamic scholars say there is no mention of triple talaq in the Qur’an, which instead details a different process for divorce based on mediation. </s> India’s top court has banned a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives instantly, ending a long tradition that many Muslim women had fiercely opposed.

The Supreme Court ruled that the practice of “triple talaq”, where Muslim men can divorce their wives by reciting the word talaq (divorce) three times, was both unconstitutional and un-Islamic.

Victims including Shayara Bano, whose husband used triple talaq to divorce her by letter in 2015, had approached India’s highest court to ask for a ruling.

A panel of five judges from India’s major faiths – Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism – said triple talaq was “not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”. </s> New Delhi — India’s highest court has begun considering the legality of a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to leave their wives instantly by reciting the word "divorce" three times.

"Triple talaq" is legal for Muslims under the Indian constitution but it has come under scrutiny, with reports emerging of men divorcing their wives via letters, Skype and WhatsApp.

Several women divorced by triple talaq have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the practice. "We told the court that the practice has no basis in the law or in the Koran," said Balaji Srinivasan, a lawyer for Shayara Bano, whose husband split from her by writing "divorce" three times on a piece of paper.

The practice has been challenged in lower courts but this collective appeal is the first time India’s Supreme Court will consider whether triple talaq is fundamental to Islam and therefore legally binding.

A panel of five judges from India’s major faiths — Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism — will consider the matter and is expected to deliver a verdict next week.

India, home to 180-million Muslims, allows religious institutions to govern matters of marriage, divorce and property inheritance, enshrining triple talaq as legal.

But the right-wing Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed the petitioners in this landmark case, declaring triple talaq unconstitutional and discriminatory against women.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a grouping of Islamic organisations, told the court it opposed any efforts to change the law.

"Triple talaq is a reprehensible and sinful way to divorce, and we have spoken against it, but we want the court and government to stay off," board convener Zafaryab Jilani said. </s> India’s top court has ruled the practice of instant divorce in Islam unconstitutional, marking a major victory for women’s rights activists.

In a 3-2 majority verdict, the court called the practice “un-Islamic”.

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.

What is instant divorce?

There have been cases in which Muslim men in India have divorced their wives by issuing the so-called triple talaq by letter, telephone and, increasingly, by text message, WhatsApp and Skype. A number of these cases made their way to the courts as women contested the custom.

Triple talaq divorce has no mention in Sharia Islamic law or the Koran, even though the practice has existed for decades.

Islamic scholars say the Koran clearly spells out how to issue a divorce – it has to be spread over three months, allowing a couple time for reflection and reconciliation.

Most Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned triple talaq, but the custom has continued in India, which does not have a uniform set of laws on marriage and divorce that apply to every citizen.

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 (a) marriage whimsically and capriciously”.

Chief Justice JS Khehar, in a differing opinion, said that personal law could not be touched by a constitutional court of law. The opposing judgements also recommended that parliament legislate on the issue. However this is not binding and is up to parliament to take up.

The Indian government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has supported ending the practice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought up the issue several times including in his Independence Day address on 15 August.

Muslim women in IndiaImage copyrightAFP

Activists are hailing the decision as a major step forward for the rights of Muslim women </s> New Delhi (AFP) – India’s highest court Thursday began considering the legality of a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to leave their wives instantly by reciting the word “divorce” three times.

“Triple talaq” is legal for Muslims under the Indian constitution but it has come under scrutiny with reports emerging of men divorcing their wives via letters, Skype and WhatsApp messages.

Several women divorced by triple talaq have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the practice.

“We told the court that the practice has no basis in the law or in the Koran,” said Balaji Srinivasan, a lawyer for Shayara Bano whose husband split from her by writing “divorce” three times on a piece of paper.

The practice has been challenged in lower courts but this collective appeal is the first time India’s Supreme Court will consider whether triple talaq is fundamental to Islam and therefore legally binding.

A panel of five judges from India’s major faiths — Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism — will consider the matter and is expected to deliver a verdict next week.

India allows religious institutions to govern matters of marriage, divorce and property inheritance in the multi-faith nation, enshrining triple talaq as a legal avenue for its 180 million Muslims to end unions.

But the right-wing Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed the petitioners in this landmark case, declaring triple talaq unconstitutional and discriminatory against women.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has long pushed for a uniform civil code to be enforced but the issue remains highly sensitive in India, where religious tensions often lead to violence.

Many Muslim groups have been critical of any attempts to meddle with religious laws, arguing it curtails their constitutional right to govern their affairs.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a grouping of Islamic organisations, told the court they opposed any efforts to change the law.

“Triple talaq is reprehensible and sinful way to divorce, and we have spoken against it, but we want the court and government to stay off,” AIMPLB’s convener Zafaryab Jilani told AFP.

Some Islamic scholars say there is no mention of triple talaq in the Koran, which instead details a different process for divorce based on mediation.

 Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2017/05/12/india-top-court-examines-islamic-instant-divorce/#DhZGYpXbGIui2Wl4.99 </s> Controversial practice of ‘triple talaq’, which allows men to dissolve marriages instantly, declared unconstitutional

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An Islamic practice permitting men to instantly divorce their wives has been declared unconstitutional by India’s supreme court after decades of campaigning by women’s groups and victims.

The “triple talaq” has allowed Muslim men to dissolve marriages by pronouncing the word “divorce” three times.

The supreme court in Delhi took up the issue last year in response to a petition from seven victims and women’s groups. A majority of the bench declared on Wednesday that triple talaq was “not integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”.

Campaigners hailed the supreme court’s 3-2 decision as a huge victory for India’s 90 million Muslim women.

“It’s a very happy day for us. It’s a historic day,” said Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), an activist group that was party to the legal battle.

“We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature.”

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, also welcomed the verdict:

Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) Judgment of the Hon'ble SC on Triple Talaq is historic. It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment.

A national survey conducted in 2015 by the BMMA found roughly 1 in 11 Muslim women were survivors of triple talaq, the vast majority receiving no alimony or compensation.



Clerics had also started recognising instant divorces where the word “talaq” had been texted or emailed.

Arshiya Ismail did not even hear her husband utter the words. She told the Guardian last year: “One day, suddenly, he told me he had given me talaq. He said: ‘I gave it to you four days earlier.’”

She has spent the past six years trying to have the Islamic divorce overturned so that she can leave her husband under India’s more progressive secular laws, which entitle her to one-third of his salary to support herself and their child.

“It’s wonderful news, I’m so emotional about it,” Ismail said on Tuesday. “Basically my marriage still stands as per the supreme court. I was hoping for it but I still had my doubts.”

'Talaq' and the battle to ban the three words that grant India's Muslim men instant divorce Read more

Triple talaq has been criticised even among hardline Muslim schools and was already banned in Pakistan, Bangladesh and across much of the Islamic world.

It persisted in India because the country’s Muslim, Hindu and Christian communities are permitted to follow religious law in personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

Progressive Muslim women’s groups say Islamic religious authorities – uniformly male – have been resistant to give up men’s power to instantly leave their wives.

India’s Muslim community is also generally poorer and less educated than others, which activists say has made it harder for women to mount legal and social campaigns against the practice.

Islamic leaders have also warned that meddling with Muslim personal laws may see them one day dismantled altogether, in favour of a uniform civil code they fear would be Hindu-inflected and ride roughshod over their beliefs.

Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, whose party has long pushed for a uniform civil code, had backed the petitioners in the case.

Each of the five supreme court judges belonged to one of India’s main faiths – Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. The majority opinion said it was “manifestly arbitrary” to allow a husband to “break down [a] marriage whimsically and capriciously”.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a peak body of Islamic organisations, had said it considered triple talaq but argued against the supreme court interfering in religious law.

Nonetheless, Kamal Faruqui, a member of the board, said he regarded the decision as a victory.

“It upholds the rights of Muslims and other minorities to follow their own personal laws,” he said.

Ending instant divorce is a victory. But Indian women have a fight ahead | Hasina Khan Read more

“There were some voices in the country that wanted to bring in a uniform civil code for all religious faiths, but the supreme court judges said a few weeks ago that they would look only at triple talaq, not at other customs. So Muslim personal law has been protected by the ruling.”

Noor Jehan, another member of the BMMA, said she had celebrated the verdict in her office with sweets and soft drinks, but would begin lobbying for a more progressive Islamic divorce law.

“It is a historic victory for Muslim women, something we have been working for for 10 years,” she said. “It is going to give immense relief to women but we need to pass a law soon. Our organisation has already prepared a draft law which we will send to the government.”

Additional reporting by Amrit Dhillon </s> Triple Talaq started trending after the Supreme Court banned the practice in India on Tuesday. The historic judgement was passed after five Muslim women, who got divorced via triple Talaq or instant divorce, filed cases in the court.

As soon as the verdict came out, people have been applauding the apex court for banning the age-old practice. It is believed to be a big step in bringing about gender equality in India.

The Supreme Court, led by five judges, has banned triple Talaq by a ratio of 3:2. The highest court in the country has declared the practice unconstitutional. The verdict has been welcomed by a majority of the population.

While so much is being talked about triple talaq or instant divorce, let's have a look at what exactly this practice is all about.
• Triple talaq is an age-old practice under Islam whereby a Muslim man can divorce his wife instantly by just saying the word "talaq" three times.
• Triple Talaq has existed in India several decades.
• While earlier triple Talaq was delivered verbally or in written form, it had been given by electronic means like telephone, SMS, email or even on social media, including Whatsapp, in recent times.
• Triple Talaq or instant divorce is not followed by all Muslims across the world.
• Triple Talaq is not mentioned in the Quran and many Islamic legal schools disapprove of this practice. Even Islamic countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh have banned this practice.
• One of the most criticised aspects about triple talaq, originally called talaq al-bid'ah, is that if the husband later wants to remarry his wife, he cannot do it unless the lady marries another man, consummating the second marriage, and then gets divorced to remarry her first husband. This process is called nikah halala.
The "triple talaq", an Islamic practice allowing men to divorce instantly, is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India.