Cricketer Mohammad Shami’s wife, Hasin Jahan has approached the Supreme Court, requesting it to frame guidelines for a “gender and religion neutral" grounds and a uniform procedure for divorces in the country. The apex court on Monday issued a notice on her plea.
In a plea, filed by advocate Deepak Prakash, Jahan calls for “gender-neutral religion-neutral uniform grounds of divorce and uniform procedure of divorce for all".
The plea also seeks to declare “unconstitutional" those sections in the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 that validate the “unilateral divorces."
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud combined Jahan’s plea with similar petitions raising similar concerns, news agency ANI said.
Jahan has highlighted that she is “aggrieved by the unilateral form of extra-judicial Talaq, Talaq-Ul-Hasan" after she received a notice of divorce under Talaq-Ul-Hasan on July 23 last year from Shammi, her husband.
Jahan talks about the unilateral divorces done on the whims of men, without women having any say in them.
Therefore, an “aggrieved wife" has approached the court for larger issues seeking removal of “Talaq-E-Hasan and all other forms of Unilateral Extra-Judicial Talaq," the plea reads.
These form of divorces are applied under the Muslim Personal Laws, and are legally binding by the The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937.
Jahan said that she is “subjected to the abuse of the draconian practices being followed under the Shariat wherein, “except Talaq-e Biddat, there exist numerous other forms of unilateral divorce (Talaq) which provide unfettered powers to the Muslim man to divorce their partner in a whimsical and capricious manner," ANI said.
This is done, the petition adds, “without affording any right of reconciliation or being heard in any manner" and is “discriminatory on the basis of sex and gender, thereby violating the basic Fundamental Rights of the women, guaranteed under Article 14, 15 and 21 in the Constitution of India, 1950."
What else does the petition seeks to change in Muslim laws?
Apart from the gender-religion neutral guidelines, the petitioner has also sought to declare the practice of “Talaq-E-Hasan and all other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq" void and unconstitutional for being arbitrary, irrational and violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25."
Moreover, the petition sought to declares Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 as void and unconstitutional for being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25 and for validating unliteral divorces.
And lastly, the petition also asked to declare the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, void and unconstitutional for being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25 in so far as it fails to secure for Muslim women the protection from “Talaq-E-Hasan and other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq".
With agency inputs