The Supreme Court on Thursday began hearing a batch of six petitions and a suo motu public interest litigation petition on whether triple talaq violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
The court said it would examine whether triple talaq is fundamental to religion. "We will also examine whether triple talaq is a part of enforceable fundamental right," the court observed.
Among those supporting triple talaq are the dominant All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
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A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and comprising Justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton F. Nariman, Uday Umesh Lalit and S. Abdul Nazeer are hearing the case. For Justice Nazeer, this will be his first time on a Constitution Bench.
The Union government 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 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.
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In case the challenge succeeds in court, the personal law, to the extent of its inconsistency, shall become void.