SC gives Centre four weeks to respond on triple talaq issue

The Supreme Court, on Monday, granted four weeks time to the Centre to file its reply to a batch of petitions on the triple talaq issue.

On September 2, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court that personal laws of a community cannot be “re-written” in the name of social reforms and opposed pleas on issues, including gender discrimination faced by Muslim women in divorce cases.

The AIMPLB, in its counter affidavit filed in the apex court, had said the contentious issue relating to Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq and nikah halala are matters of “legislative policy” and cannot be interfered with.

The Board also said that practices provided by Muslim Personal Law on the issues of marriage, divorce and maintenance were based on holy scripture Al-Quran and “courts cannot supplant its own interpretations over the text of scriptures.”

Regarding polygamy, the Board’s affidavit said though Islam permitted it, it does not encourage the same and referred to various reports, including World Development Report 1991, which had said that polygamy percentage among tribals, Buddhists and Hindus were 15.25, 7.97 and 5.80 per cent respectively as compared to 5.73 per cent in Muslims.

AIMPLB and Jamiat-e-Ulema had defended triple talaq and said it was part of Quran-dictated personal law which was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny.