A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar is scheduled to begin hearing a batch of six petitions and a suo motu PIL of the Supreme Court on whether triple talaq and polygamy violate the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
The Bench, besides Chief Justice Khehar, comprises Justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton F. Nariman, Uday Umesh Lalit and S. Abdul Nazeer. For Justice Nazeer, this will be his first time on a Constitution Bench.
The Bench will hear the case back-to-back from May 11 and is likely even sit through the weekend. The Bench will examine if these personal law practices were the “fundamental traits” of the minority religion.
Article 13
The Centre has asked the court to reopen the debate whether personal laws can be brought under the ambit of Article 13 (laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights) of the Indian Constitution.
If the Supreme Court agrees that personal laws are included in the definition of laws under Article 13, the door will be opened wide for an aggrieved person to challenge a particular personal law of a religion as violative of the fundamental rights.
In case the challenge succeeds in court, the personal law, to the extent of its inconsistency, shall become void.
