In what could be described as a landmark judgment, the Madras High Court on Monday declared that all Sharia functioning from mosque premises are illegal and directed the Government of Tamil Nadu to get rid of such religious courts. The First Bench of the Madras Court consisting of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M Sundar asked the State Government to file a status report to the court within four weeks.
The verdict comes at a time when the whole country is discussing the need for a uniform civil code and also in the backdrop of the Allahabad High Court judgment declaring triple talaq illegal . The Madras High Court also said that religious places and other places of worship were only meant for religious purposes and it was the responsibility of the State Government to get rid of Sharia courts functioning from the premises of religious places.
The Court order was in response to a public interest litigation filed by Abdul Rehman, a UK based professional who was aggrieved by the acts of such a Sharia Court functioning from the premises of a mosque in Chennai’s Mount Road. The petitioner said that the Makka Masjid Sharia Council operating from the said mosque was functioning like a regular court.
“This PIl was filed to safeguard the interests of innocent Muslims who silently suffered at the hands of these Sharia Courts/Councils. These courts had created an impression among the innocent Muslims that such courts were functioning as per Sharia law and the judgments were religiously binding on the Muslims,” said A Sirajudeen, senior counsel who represented the petitioner.
Abdur Rehman had earlier approached the Makka Masjid Sharia Court Council in the hope of reuniting with his estranged wife. But the Sharia Court forced him to sign a letter of divorce much against his wishes.
He had stated in his petition that the Sharia Courts functioning out of the mosque premises acted as bodies to resolve matrimonial and property related issues. Once the litigants present a case before these councils, they were called over telephone asking them to be present themselves before the court. Whatever decisions made by such religious courts are binding on the litigants as they have been told that the judgements by these courts had divine approval.