Skip to main content

CASE COMMENTARY ON SHAYARA BANO V. UNION OF INDIA

 CASE COMMENTARY ON SHAYARA BANO V. UNION OF INDIA

 

 

INTRODUCTION

The Supreme Court issued a historic judgement on the constitutional legitimacy of "Talaq-e-Biddat," also known as "Triple Talaq," one of three male-initiated divorces in the Muslim community, the other two being "Talaq ahasan" and "Talaq hasan." As the name implies, this type of divorce allows a Muslim man to divorce his wife immediately by pronouncing the word "talaq" three times. The channels of communication in this case could be written, oral, or even electronic, adding to a woman's vulnerability in this arbitrary and unilateral divorce. This contentious custom, which intersects gender identity and community, has left Muslim women vulnerable to abuse and in a morbid state, especially given the socioeconomic aspect, where the majority of women are financially dependent on their spouse, and the added fear of this arbitrary divorce leaves many cases of marital abuse unreported.

 

 

FACTS OF THE CASE

In the presence of two witnesses, Rizwan Ahmad (husband) pronounced Talaq, Talaq, Talaq and delivered Talaq nama to Shayara Bano on October 10, 2015. (wife). The wife filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking for a writ declaring the divorce void ab initio since it infringed on her fundamental rights. As a result, the constitutional legality of Triple Talaq was put into doubt before a Supreme Court Constitution bench of five judges.


ISSUES

  1. Whether the practice of Triple Talaq is constitutional?

  2. Whether the practice of Triple Talaq is an essential religious practice of Islam?

 

DECISION OF THE SC  COURT 

The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench upheld and ruled the practise of instantaneous Triple Talaq or Talaq-e-biddat to be unlawful under Article 14 read with Article 13(1) of the Indian Constitution by a 3:2 majority. The Court concluded in Shayra Bano versus UOI that the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 sanctioned the practise as a matter of personal law.

The Court clarified that “…an arbitrary action must involve negation of equality” and determined that, because triple talaq states that “…the marital tie can be broken capriciously with no attempt at reconciliation to save it”, this arbitrariness violates Article 14 of Constitution of India.

The Supreme Court also ruled in Shayra Bano v UOI that the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937 is void because it recognises and enforces triple talaq, citing Article 13(1) of the Constitution, which states that all laws in force immediately before the commencement of the current Constitution (including the 1937 Act) are void if they are incompatible with the Constitution's fundamental rights. It stated that the practise of Talaq-e-biddat is not protected by Article 25's exception because it is not an essential component of the Islamic religion, according to the court. The court further defended its stance by claiming that, while the Hanafi School follows it, it is immoral to do so. The Quran's essential precepts are contradicted by Triple Talaq and whatever contradicts Quranis contradicts Shariat; thus, what is bad in theology cannot be good in law.

 

CONCLUSION 

The landmark decision in Shayra Bano case is unquestionably a step toward equality, and it has provided a foundation for future personal law and social amendments. This decision in Shayara Bano v UOI also dealt with the minority in a very viable manner, which is a step toward secularism.

 

 

 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Empowering Businesses: Virtual Corporate Law Services

  Empowering Businesses: Virtual Corporate Law Services In the dynamic world of business, legal support is crucial to ensure smooth operations, mitigate risks, and navigate regulatory landscapes. Lexis and Company offers Virtual Corporate Law Services to businesses in the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Dubai, and Australia , assisting with mergers, acquisitions, business contracts, compliance, and corporate governance. Key Features of Virtual Corporate Law Services 1. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Legal Support We provide comprehensive legal services for mergers and acquisitions , including due diligence, structuring deals, drafting agreements, and navigating regulatory approvals. Benefits: Ensures smooth and legally sound M&A transactions. Minimizes risks during corporate restructuring. Protects your business interests in high-value deals. Trending Hashtags: #MergersAndAcquisitions #BusinessDeals #CorporateLaw #LegalSupport #VirtualLegalExperts 2. Business Contracts and Ag...
Post a Comment
Read more

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nathulal v. State of Madhya Pradesh AIR 1966 SC 43

 Nathulal v. State of Madhya Pradesh AIR 1966 SC 43 CITATION AIR 1966 SC 43 COURT Supreme Court of India JUDGES/CORAM Justice K.S. Shah and Justice R. Bachawat DATE OF JUDGEMENT 22.03.1965 Facts: The facts of the case are as follows: The appellant was a dealer in a food grains at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh prosecuted in the Court of Additional District Magistrate for possessing in stock maunds and 21/4 seers of wheat for the purpose of sale without license. Subsequently appellant was charged for committing an offence under section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Thereafter the appellant pleaded there was no intention to contravene any provisions of the law and the grains were stored upon filing an application for license and upon believe that it will be issued to him. The appellant further stated that he continued to submit returns on the food grains stored and purchased to the respected authority. Thus, the appellant was acquitted in the Court of Additional District Magistra...
Post a Comment
Read more