The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is likely to approach the Supreme Court if the ordinance brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to make triple talaq a punishable offence is approved by both Houses of Parliament during the ongoing winter session.
A meeting of the AIMPLB will be held here on Sunday.
“The main agenda of the meeting is likely to be the ordinance brought by the Central government making triple talaq a cognisable offence. If the ordinance is passed by both the Houses of Parliament, the AIMPLB is likely to approach the Supreme Court. A final decision on this issue will be taken in the meeting,” AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said here on Saturday.
“We are against triple talaq but the provision of three years’ punishment in the ordinance is unwarranted. There are a lot of women who also want to leave their husband immediately and this provision can easily be misused,” he added.
Jilani said in the meeting to be held in the state capital on Sunday, the AIMPLB would also discuss the Ram temple issue. He said they would also approach the apex court if the Bharatiya Janata Party government brought a bill in Parliament for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“Our legal team will be submitting a report on the Ayodhya dispute and a discussion will be held on it. If the government brings a bill in Parliament for the construction of Ram temple, we will challenge it in the Supreme Court,” he said.
Jilani said the AIMPLB would also discuss Darul-Qaza (Shariat courts) and Sabarimala issue in the meeting.
“Misinformation is being spread about Darul-Qaza. It started in 1993 and there are more than 16 centres in UP. The Sabarimala verdict will also be discussed as it concerns religious freedom. The Shariat issues are also related to it,” the senior member of the AIMPLB said.
Reacting to the proposed meeting of the meeting, Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, “The AIMPLB is just a non-governmental organisation and has no right to frame any law. There is only one Constitution in the country that covers every citizen of the country. Triple talaq has been made a punishable offence in order to protect the Muslim women from such draconian practice.”
The Union Cabinet on September 19 gave its approval to an ordinance on triple talaq even though a bill on the issue is pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress-led opposition has been demanding that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 be sent to a select committee of Parliament for further scrutiny.
The ordinance comes into force after the promulgation by the President and it has to be approved by Parliament within six months.
In August 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark verdict held that the practice of triple talaq violates the constitutional rights of Muslim women.