Allahabad HC sets aside family court order granting triple talaq

Picture for representational purpose 

THE ALLAHABAD High Court has set aside a Bareilly family court order that permitted a man to divorce his wife through instant triple talaq, citing that the Supreme Court order had struck down the practice as illegal. A bench of Justices Arun Tandon and Rajiv Joshi, earlier this month, refused to go into the merits of Arsey Jahan’s appeal against her husband Farooq Khan because the SC has already decided the matter in favour of women.

“(The) exercise would be a futile exercise in as much as the issue raised by means of the present appeal stands squarely answered in favour of the appellant and against the plaintiff-husband under the majority judgment and order of the constitution bench of the apex court in the case of Shayara Bano vs Union of India,” the bench said.

In March this year, a family court in Bareilly had decided in favour of Khan, who had divorced Jahan by pronouncing triple talaq in one go in August, 2011. According to court records, while accusing her in-laws of torturing her for dowry, Jahan had refused to stay with Khan. Later, Khan divorced Jahan through instant triple talaq. Jahan, however, had refused to accept the talaq as valid. Both then moved family court. The court, in 2011, held that by pronouncing talaq thrice repeatedly, Khan had divorced Jahan. A month later, Jahan moved HC, challenging the order.

The HC, on December 4, said: “In view of the law laid down by the apex court in the case of Shayara Bano (supra) and in view of the fact that the husband had claimed for a degree of divorce on the basis of Talaq-e-Biddat, which has been held to be illegal by apex court, the judgment and decree of the court below cannot be legally sustained and is hereby set aside.”