The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre, the National Commission for Women, and the National Human Rights Commission on a plea seeking framing of guidelines for gender and religion neutral uniform ground and procedure of divorce.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala issued notice on a plea by Hasin Jahan, wife of Mohammad Shami, Indian cricket team player and tagged it with other petitions raising the same issue.
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Hasin Jahan has said that she is aggrieved by the unilateral form of extra- judicial Talaq, Talaq-Ul-Hasan, and has received a Notice of 1st Pronouncement of Divorce Under Talaq-Ul-Hasan on July 23 2022 by Mohammad Shami. Upon receiving such notice, Hasin Jahan contacted her near and dear ones, and found that many others too have suffered similar fate by their husbands.
The petitioner has said that she has approached the top court seeking adjudication of the larger issues relating to “Talaq-E-Hasan and all other forms of Unilateral Extra-Judicial Talaq” which are still prevalent and in force under the Muslim Personal Laws (Shariat), by way of The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
Hasin Jahan has said that she is an aggrieved wife, who was subjected to the abuse of the draconian practices being followed under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat), wherein, except Talaq-e-bidat, there exists numerous other forms of unilateral form of divorce, which provide unfettered powers over the Muslim man, to divorce a Muslim woman, in a whimsical and capricious manner, without affording any right of reconciliation or being heard in any manner, to the Muslim women.
She has claimed that these divorces prevalent amongst Muslim community are discriminatory to Muslim women on the grounds of sex and gender, thereby violating the fundamental rights of the women, guaranteed under Article 14,15 and 21 in the constitution.
Such forms of Talaq include one Talaq-E-Hassan also known as Talaq-Ul-Hassan, which is being grossly abused by the Muslim men by pronouncing thrice – once a month for three consecutive months with any opportunity of hearing to the Muslim women to be heard.
