New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday decided that the Law Ministry would give a consolidated reply to the Supreme Court on the Triple Talaq issue on behalf of all stakeholders. The decision was taken at a high-level inter-ministerial meeting formed to decide on the response to be filed before the Apex Court.
The inter-ministerial panel consists of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.
The Law Minister would formulate a reply on behalf of all the stakeholders which includes the National Commission for Women, the Women and Child Development Ministry, sources said.
The apex court had sought the centre’s response to a batch of PILs, including a suo motu petition, for and against such laws. Several Muslim women have also challenged the validity of “triple talaq,” polygamy and remarriage restrictions.
Stakeholders like the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board had pleaded with the Supreme Court not to go into the validity of “triple talaq” and other provisions of personal laws as these fell in the legislative domain, besides being based on religious scriptures while opposing pleas of alleged gender discrimination faced by Muslim women in divorce cases.
AIMPLB, in its counter affidavit, said the issue relating to Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala are matters of legislative policy and cannot be interfered with.
Triple talaq (Talaq-e-bidat) is a Muslim man divorcing his wife by pronouncing more than one talaq in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations), or in a tuhr after coitus, or pronouncing an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple-talaq).
Nikah halala refers to the marriage of a woman with another man who subsequently divorces her so that her previous husband can remarry her.
The petitions including one by triple talaq victim Shayara Bano were filed challenging the age-old practice of 'triple talaq' among the Muslim community.