Plea against Polygamy, Nikah Halala: SC Issues Notices to NCW, NHRC, Minorities Commission

Supreme Court Law Insider

Tanisha Rana

Published on: September 1, 2022 at 23:01 IST

The petitions submitted by Muslim women and activists questioning the practise of divorce in the Muslim community were heard on Tuesday by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court. After the 2017 triple talaq case ruling made the practise of immediate triple talaq illegal, a group of eight PILs were submitted to the Supreme Court.

These petitions have criticised Muslim marriage customs such as polygamy, mutah, misyar marriage, and nikah halala as well as divorce laws.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Commission of Women (NCW), and the National Commission of Minorities were given notice as parties to the petitions during the hearing before the SC bench, which was presided over by Justice Indira Banerjee.

In a second plea brought by a group of Hindu women, who called polygamy exploitative, anti-women, and discriminatory, the bench of Justices led by Indira Banerjee, Hemant Gupta, Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, and Sudhanshu Dhulia gave notice to the Centre.

One of the petitioners and triple-talaq victim Sameena Begum expressed her desire for justice from the SC following the hearing.

“The other petitioners and I have suffered and moved the court to ensure that another girl doesn’t become like us. I was given talaq and then my husband insisted on halala. It is only because my family supported me that I was able to reach the Supreme court,” said Sameena.

Nikah halala, also known as tahleel marriage, is a custom in which a married woman is divorced by her husband, marries again, and then divorces the new husband in order to get back together with the previous one.

Muslim women are against the practise of nikah halala among others because they see it as a danger to their freedom and dignity under the guise of religious devotion.

The matter has been scheduled for hearing in October, 2022.

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