Priya Gour
Published on: August 30, 2022 at 17:56 IST
The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and A.S. Oka has recently issued notice to a husband for looking into the chances of settlement, in a complaint regarding the practise of “Talaq-E-Hasan”. The aggrieved woman had challenged the constitutionality of the practise, because of it being discriminatory against women.
The court had earlier observed that, “…would the petitioner be willing for a settlement by process of divorce by mutual consent on amounts being paid over and above the Meher fixed. In fact, we have brought to their notice that dissolution of marriage is also possible without the intervention of the Court through Mubarat.”
The petitioner Benazeer appeared in person and narrated her predicament. She said that her husband is running away from fulfilling his responsibilities. So, a notice was issued to him personally.
The court held that the PIL will be heard in the light of the issue. However, it directed for a notice to be issued to the husband to explore the possibilities of mutual settlement. A notice was issued in another similar case to the husband.
“Amend the memo within 3 days. Let notice be issued only to the husband at this stage.”
The petitioner submitted, “I am also a victim. My husband has given me talaq. 04.07.2022 by WhatsApp message. She was given talaq twice. Today morning she got the third one.“
Talaq-E-Hasan is a practice whereby a man can divorce his wife by pronouncing “talaq” once a month for three months. Thus, Justice Kaul was curious if pronouncing talaq twice simultaneously and then the third one a couple of months later would meet the requirements of “Talaq-e-Hasan”. The veracity of the talaq was upheld by the Kaazi.
A counsel submitted about the remedy available under Section 7 of the Family Court Act, whereby parties can get a declaration that it is not proper talaq.
The matter will be next heard on 11th October, 2022.