The Supreme Court on Monday did not accede to a request to urgently list a petition seeking a declaration that the practice of polygamy and nikah halala are unconstitutional.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde told petitioner-advocate Ashwini Upadhyay that the court would consider listing the case after the winter vacation.
The petition wants the court to declare Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution, insofar as it seeks to recognise and validate the practice of polygamy and nikah halala.
Mr. Upadhyay has contended that a “ban on polygamy and nikah halala has been the need of the hour to secure basic rights and in the interests of public order, morality and health”.
“The injury caused to women through practice of triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala is violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and injurious to public order, morality and health.... Laws dealing with marriage and succession are not a part of religion, law has to change with time, and international covenants and treaties could be referred to examine validity and reasonableness of a provision,” the petition said.
The petition referred to how the apex court had held the triple talaq unconstitutional in August 2017.
