SC seeks report on action taken in triple talaq cases

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to provide data on criminal cases registered under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalises the pronouncement of instant triple talaq by Muslim men, undertaking the judicial scrutiny over the necessity and proportionality of the penal provisions imposed by the law.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

"We want to have the list of cases that have been filed under the offences mentioned in the 2019 Act. Also, tell us whether this (penal provisions) has been challenged anywhere else too and if any other high court is dealing with it. Submit data on the charge sheets filed in such cases too," a bench, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, ordered.

The bench, also comprising justice Sanjay Kumar, passed the directive while hearing a batch of petitions filed by Muslim organisations challenging the constitutionality of the 2019 law. The court specifically asked the Union government to submit details on the total number of first information reports (FIRs) registered under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act across India.

The 2019 Act makes the practice of triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine, with the offence being cognizable and non-bailable. The law followed a 3-2 majority verdict by the apex court in 2017 declared the practice, which allowed a Muslim man to divorce his wife unilaterally and instantaneously by uttering "talaq" three times, as unconstitutional and void.

Challenging the law, the petitioners, including Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulama, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, and the Muslim Advocates Association (Andhra Pradesh), have argued that since the Supreme Court had already declared triple talaq invalid in 2017, there was no justification for making it a criminal offence.