‘Will move Supreme Court if government brings law on mandir’

LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday announced that if the government brings an ordinance or makes law for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya or criminalising instant triple talaq, then it will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

After holding a meeting at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in city, the board’s working committee said that it has constituted a committee that would reach out to all ‘secular’ political parties against the instant triple talaq ordinance.

“An ordinance lapses after a specified amount of time unless it is approved by the Parliament. The board is hopeful that it will lapse before being presented in the Parliament, however, if the government tables a bill on it, we will challenge it in court,” said AIMPLB member Qasim Rasool Ilyas.

“A committee, of which I too am a member, will be meeting all parliamentarians and heads of political parties except BJP, to make them understand the legal fallacies of instant triple talaq ordinance and how it affects women and families,” he added.

‘Darul qazas working in tandem with courts’

The ordinance makes instant triple talaq a punishable offence with three-year jail term for the husband. AIMPLB maintains that while the SC has said that instant triple talaq is invalid, provisions of the ordinance make the ‘invalid’ offence punishable.

Referring to the Ayodhya issue, AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said, “The board reiterates that any judicial verdict by the SC on the Babri Masjid dispute will be final for us.”

Talking about the board’s efforts for spreading awareness on Shariat laws within the community, executive member, Dr Asma Zehra said, “We have been conducting awareness programmes in a large number of rural and urban areas, and holding debates and discussions on marital issues within the community. Now, we will hold awareness programmes for all communities in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Lucknow.”

The board also said that it has set up 14 new Darul qazas in the country to work as advisory arbitration centres and facilitating decision making in family issues. “The Darul qazas have been working in tandem with courts and helped in taking off a bit of the court’s load. More such Darul qazas will be formed by Decemberend,” said board secretary, Maulana Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani.