Triple Talaq
An Indian Muslim woman adjusts her headscarf before Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid mosque in the old quarters of Delhi. [Representational Image]Reuters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the practice of instant triple talaq as void, illegal and unconstitutional as it is against the tenets of the Holy Quran and also violates the Sharia law. A five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar, had reserved its verdict on May 18, six days after the hearing of the case began on May 11.

The practice of triple talaq was struck down by the apex court by a 3:2 majority. Justices Kurian Joseph, RF Natiman and UU Lalit opposed the practice saying that it is not an integral part of Islam and that it is against the tenets of the Holy Quran. 

However, Justice Khehar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer were in favour of triple talaq and said that the practice "was part of Muslim personal law and hence enjoys status of fundamental rights." They wanted the Centre to bring in a legislation in Parliament and barred the practice for six months until the legislation is passed.

Here are all the LIVE updates:

1:06 pm IST:

12:50 pm IST:

12:43 pm IST:

12:30 pm IST:

12:07 pm IST: "Our grievances & apprehensions whether they have been addressed by the judges or not can be said after seeing judgement. What will happen to those Muslim women who even after judgement will accept 'Talaq', all issues have to be addressed," Z Jilani, member of the AIMPLB, told ANI.

12:04 pm IST:

12:03 pm IST:

11:47 am IST: "Media has played an important role. This is a big win for all of us," Farah Faiz, one of the six petitioners, told News18.

11:46 am IST:

11:45 am IST: Union minister Maneka Gandhi welcomed the judgement and told News18: "Small step from Supreme Court, a giant step for women, It is a very, very important judgment. This makes women equal, as they are entitled to be under the Constitution."

11:40 am IST: "Extremely difficult to agree with CJI that triple talaq is integral to practise of Islam," Justice Joseph said, while delivering his verdict. He added that the practice was against the tenets of Holy Quran and, therefore, is a violation of the Sharia law.

However, CJI Khehar and Justice Abdul Nazeer favoured triple talaq saying that the practice "was part of Muslim personal law and hence enjoys status of fundamental rights."

11:39 am IST: 

11:34 am IST: "I welcome the SC verdict. It's a historic day for Muslim women," says Shayara Bano

11:27 am IST:

11:15 am IST:

11 am IST: Three of the five judges on the panel — Justice Nariman, Justice Lalit and Justice Joseph — have opposed the practice of triple talaq and said that it is unconsitutional. The court has struck down triple talaq by a 3:2 majority.

10:55 am IST: The court hopes that the Centre would consider the concerns of Muslim bodies and the Sharia law. In case the government fails to bring a law within six months, the SC's ban or injunction on triple talaq will continue.

10:50 am IST: The bench has asked the government to bring in a legislation in Parliament within six months. CJI Khehar has asked all parties to decide on the matter keeping politics aside.

10:47 am IST: CJI Khehar has said that Talaq-e-Biddat does not violate Articles 14 (equality before the law & equal protection within the territory of India and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, or any of them),15 (state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them), 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) and 25 (freedom to follow any religion) of the Constitution.

He added that Talaq-e-Biddat is an integral part of Sunni community and has been in practice for 1,000 years.

10:43 am IST: Triple talaq will not be in operation for six months until legislation is passed, says the apex court.

10:41 am IST: SC upholds triple talaq. Justice Khehar says that the Centre should look into the matter and bring in legislation on triple talaq in Parliament.

10:39 am IST: The SC will pronounce its judgement shortly.

10:35 am IST: The practice of triple talaq has been denounced in Pakistan, which describes itself as an Islamic Republic. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Jawwad S Khawaja had told News18 in June this year that "triple talaq was never a part of pure Islamic history and was not considered valid as per Islamic law."

He had said: "Instant talaq or triple talaq has not been considered valid in Islam and it is not considered to be the best form of divorce under Islamic law. If you look at what jurists have opined in the 1,000-year old history that it was never acceptable and it has never been the most accepted of talaq in any era of Islamic history."

10:27 am IST: "It is a big day, let us see what the judgment says," former AG Mukul Rohatgi told ANI. During the hearing, he had told the bench that the Centre would introduce new laws for the Muslim community if it declared the practice of triple talaq invalid and unconstitutional.

10:20 am IST: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also said that he is against the practice of triple talaq. 

"I would like to honour those sisters who have been forced to lead a very difficult life due to triple talaq. There is no recourse for them, and such victims of triple talaq have launched a massive movement in the country. They shook the conscience of the intellectual class of the country, the media of the country also helped them and a movement against triple talaq was started in the country," he had said while addressing the nation on Independence Day.

10:10 am IST: There are six petitions before the SC. The main plea has been filed by a woman from Uttarakhand named Shayara Bano, whose husband of 15 years divorced her by by uttering the word 'talaq' thrice.

Bano said in her petition that "the Muslim husband's right to ask for divorce by uttering talaq three times in a row is completely unilateral, unguided, absolute and has no rationale. It cannot be identified with Muslim culture and is not part of Muslim law. So it is not part of religion and hence not part of the right to practice or propagate religion and deserves no protection."

9:55 am IST: There are six petitioners, including five women, in the case, according to the Indian Express. Shayara Bano, Ishrat Jahan, Gulshan Parween, Aafreen Rehman, Atiya Sabri and Zakia Soman-led Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) is the sixth petitioner.

9:50 am IST: A five-member bench from five different faiths — Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Hindu and Muslim — will pronounce the judgement. However, the absence of a woman judge on the panel, which will decide on a practice that affects Muslim women across the country, has received a lot of criticism. 

9:40 am IST: The Supreme Court will announce its verdict at 10:30 am today.

9:30 am IST: During the hearing, several parties — the central government, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB), made their submissions with regard to the matter.

For the first three days, the court heard arguments of those challenging the practice while the next three days saw those defending triple talaq. Meanwhile, the Centre told the bench that triple talaq was a gender issue within the Muslim community and not a practice integral to Islam.

During the hearings in May this year, the bench tried to ascertain whether the practice of triple talaq within the Muslim community was a fundamental right to practice religion or if it was a practice of polygamy. The SC had also observed that triple talaq was the "worst" and "not a desirable" form of dissolution of marriage.

The five-member bench heard several pleas filed by Muslim women seeking the abolition of triple talaq, which gives the man the right to divorce his wife by uttering the word 'talaq' thrice.

The central government had told the bench that it would introduce a law to regulate marriage and divorce among Muslims if the practice of triple talaq is declared invalid and unconstitutional by the SC. It has described all the three forms of divorce among Muslims — talaq-e-biddat, talaq hasan and talaq ahsan — as "unilateral" and "extra-judicial".

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