Muslim personal law: SC asks Centre to submit report on 'women and law'
New Delhi: With All India Muslim Personal Law Board strongly opposing court intervention on marriage and divorce, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to produce the report of a high power committee on “women and law” set up during the UPA regime.
The Report titled “Women and the law: An assessment of family laws with focus on laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and succession” was submitted last year to the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Uday Lalit was hearing a batch of applications, a suo motu petition and a writ petition challenging triple talak and polygamy being practiced by Muslims.
During the resumed hearing senior counsel Amit Singh Chadda and counsel Balaji Srinivasan, appearing for petitioner Shayara Banu brought to the notice of the court that the Centre had appointed a committee in this regard and the report was not released.
Quoting media reports, counsel said the report has recommended a ban on various practices that are purportedly Islamic but require reform, including the practice of talaq-e-bidat and polygamy.
The bench also sought the response of Muslim organizations, National Commission for Women and Centre on impleadment and intervention applications within six weeks.
The court asked Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to respond to the suo motu petition by a two judge bench of the court on October 16, 2015 and answer to the question if “gender discrimination” suffered by Muslim women should not be considered a violation of the Fundamental Rights under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and international covenants.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board in its Application said the issue of Muslim Personal Law is cultural issue, and it is inextricably interwoven with Islam. It has argued that it is the issue of freedom of conscience, guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 read with Article 29 of the Constitution. The AIMPLB has contended that the questions being examined by the Supreme Court in the present case has already been dealt with by the Court in Ahmedabad Women Action Group v Union of India.
In this case, the Supreme Court held that these were matters wholly involving issues of state policies, with which the Court has no concern, and therefore, to be dealt with by the legislature.
The AIMPLB has also submitted that the Constitution does not touch upon the personal laws of the parties, and therefore, the Supreme Court cannot examine the question of constitutional validity of the practices of marriage, divorce and maintenance in Muslim personal law.
The petitioner Shayara Banu is a female Muslim citizen whose husband has illegally divorce her after frequently subjecting her to cruelty during the currency of their marriage.
She said this Court has already taken the view that gender discrimination against Muslim women needs to be examined and has, inter alia, observed that laws dealing with marriage and succession are not a part of religion, the law has to change with time, and international covenants and treaties could be referred to examine validity and reasonableness of a provision.
