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In an initiative that is sure to forward the cause of women in India, Allahabad High Court criticized the Muslim practice of ‘triple talaq’, calling this form of arbitrary divorce ‘cruel’ and one that ‘impedes and drags India from becoming a nation.’

This Muslim divorce practice has been operational under the ‘Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act’ of 1937, under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife instantly by repeating the word ‘talaq’ thrice in the presence of two witnesses. He can also divorce her in installments over three months, though this is a lesser observed discourse as it usually leads to filling of dowry cases by the wife.

Further, the ‘Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act’ of 1939 provides for women to ‘seek’ divorce, where they can go to the court or to Islamic clerics to seek dissolution of her marriage. This too, falls short of any promise of power to the Muslim wife.

Either way, this derogatory practice leads to the instant disruption of a Muslim woman’s life as she finds herself cast out and without any means of sustenance. Such was the case of the woman whose case brought the High Court to take up the cause of such women and to condemn this practice in such harsh terms. She was divorced simply because her husband developed a liking to a woman half his age.

The court said in its address, "The instant divorce (triple talaq) though has been deprecated and not followed by all sects of Muslim community in the country, however, is a cruel and the most demeaning form of divorce practiced by the Muslim community at large. Women cannot remain at the mercy of the patriarchal setup held under the clutches of sundry clerics having their own interpretation of the holy Quran. Personal laws of any community cannot claim supremacy over the rights granted to individuals by the Constitution.

This is a progressive sign that allows the most destitute of Muslim women to move the Court to obtain their rights as it is deemed to be in violation of the fundamental right to equality. Read more here. This can be done under the Uniform Civil Code.

These are only observations and are not legally binding as yet. The Allahabad High Court, on 8th December, deeming the practice of triple talaq ‘unconstitutional’, has urged the Supreme Court to act for its correction and to bring progressive laws into effect.

This has positively irked the propagators of this long observed practice. Senior Islamic theologian of the ‘Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind’ (JUH), Maulana Arshad Madani expressed that though the Muslims will respect SC’s verdict on the matter., it will not stop the community from adhering to the Muslim Personal Law.