Talaq-e-Hasan not akin to triple talaq: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the practice of Talaq-e-Hasan among the followers of Islam is not akin to triple talaq, and the women also have an option of ‘khula’. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh said the case challenging the practice should not be used to further any agenda. Talaq-e-Hasan is the practice by which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by saying the word ‘talaq’ once a month, for three months.

However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of talaq, the couple is assumed to have reconciled and the previous utterances are deemed invalid. A woman can part ways with her husband through ‘khula’. The bench said if the husband and wife could not live together, it can also grant divorce on the ground of breakdown under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The court was hearing a plea seeking to declare ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of ‘unilateral extra-judicial talaq’ as unconstitutional’ claiming they were ‘arbitrary, irrational, and violated fundamental rights’. “This is not triple talaq in that sense. Marriage being contractual in nature, you also have an option of khula. If two people cannot live together, we are also granting divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Are you open to divorce by mutual consent if ‘mehar’ (gift given in cash or kind by groom to bride) is taken care of? Prima facie, I don’t agree with petitioners. I don’t want this to become an agenda for any other reason,” the bench observed.

Senior advocate Pinky Anand, appearing for the petitioner Benazeer Heena, said while the SC has held triple talaq unconstitutional, it left the Talaq-E-Hasan issue undecided. The court also told the petitioner that dissolution of marriage is also possible without the intervention of this court through ‘mubarat’ and asked her counsel to seek instructions.

The apex court will now hear the matter on Aug. 29. The petition, filed by Ghaziabad resident Heena, who claimed to be a victim of Talaq-E-Hasan, also sought a direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.