Triple Talaq: All India Muslim Personal Board urges Supreme Court not to change personal laws

Ahead of the crucial hearing wherein the apex court will decide the validity of triple talaq, the All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPLB) has urged not to meddle with its personal laws.

"It is humbly submitted that the court ought not to venture into the area of changing personal laws by following the trend in several other countries. It is pertinent to note that any change or reform that comes with the backing of legislature takes due care of diverse cultural background, sensitivity and sensibility of the stakeholder community and thus is in spirit adheres to both the principles - the principle of democracy and the principle of separation of powers", the AIMPLB written submissions said.

"It is important to note that changes in other countries, with a distinct socio-cultural and even legal back ground must not be applied in Indian context, without appreciating the distinct nature of the Indian society, as doing so shall not only destroy the democratic legislative process underlined in the Constitution of India but it shall also be great injustice to the followers of Islam in our nation," it said.

Eight aggrieved Muslim women wanted the court to scrap the practice of triple talaq and polygamy. The Modi government has already supported the ban on triple talaq, saying, "gender equality and the dignity of women are not negotiable" and told judges that "even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of law" which reinforces that these practices cannot be considered an integral part of practice of Islam.

The Centre's affidavit had come at a time when AIMPLB, defending the validity of triple talaq, even took the bizarre ground that if the practice is discontinued, a man could even murder or burn his wife alive to get rid of her.

"If a serious discord develops between a couple, and the husband does not want to live with the wife, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive," AIMPLB stated in an earlier affidavit.

GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S DIGNITY NON-NEGOTIABLE, SAYS CENTRE

But in its affidavit, the Centre said: "Gender equality and dignity of woman are non-negotiable, over arching constitutional values can brook no compromise. These rights are necessary in letter and in spirit to realise aspirations of every individual woman." The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has opposed PILs filed against

the controversial triple talaq in the Supreme Court, saying petition against Muslim Law Board is "not maintainable". The Muslim body has claimed that any order against triple talaq would be an infringement on their right to follow and profess any religion.

It has also been contended that the petitions are based on an incorrect understanding of Muslim Personal Law. Any legislative reform, they say, must be sensitive to the cultural context of India, adding that reforms in other countries can't be applied to India. The next hearing in this case is likely to be on March 30.

Earlier, over a million Muslims from across India had signed an RSS-affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch petition to end the controversial divorce practice of triple talaq.

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