The Supreme Court on Monday decided to fast-track the hearing on petitions challenging Muslim personal law practices of polygamy and nikah halala after one of the petitioners approached the court claiming her in-laws are putting pressure on her to withdraw the petition or face eviction from her matrimonial home.
Reacting to the plea of aggrieved woman Shameena Begum, the SC Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, directed the Centre to file its response on the validity of these practices. The CJI indicated a Constitution Bench will be formed to hear the matter. On March 26, a three-judge Bench headed by the CJI had issued notice on a bunch of four petitions, including that of Shameena, and referred the matter to a larger Bench.
Shameena’s lawyer told the court her client is under tremendous pressure to withdraw the case against her in-laws and demanded an urgent listing of her petition. The lawyer submitted that the case was listed for this week, but somehow got dropped from the Advanced list.
The Government will file its response at the earliest, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court. The court assured the petitioner that once the Centre files its response, an appropriate Bench will be formed to hear the petitions.
The petitioners drew strength from a recent verdict of the SC that by a 3:2 majority declared instant triple talaq as unconstitutional. Nikah halala is a consequence of instant triple talaq where a Muslim woman intending to remarry her divorced husband needs to marry another man and obtain divorce from him.
The practice of polygamy, on the other hand, allows a Muslim man to have multiple wives with the earlier marriage still continuing.
Two of the petitioners — Shameena Begum and Nafisa Khan — related their ordeal how their husbands mistreated them and without obtaining divorce, married second time. Sameena got married in 1999 and had two sons from the wedlock. Throughout, her husband tortured her to bring in more dowry or face talaq. She filed a complaint of dowry harassment under IPC Section 498A. Nafisa too met with the same fate.
left without any remedy due to polygamy and triple talaq getting the legal cover under Muslim personal law, both petitioners demanded to put polygamy, nikah halala, and triple talaq as offence under Sections 498A (dowry harassment), 375 (rape) and 494 (bigamy) of the IPC.
They argued that giving recognition to talaq-e-bidat, nikah halala and polygamy as a valid form of divorce interferes with the Muslim women’s right to profess and practice her religion under Article 25. It also treated women unequal as polygamy is not permitted for married Muslim women.