Talaq-e-Hasan unconstitutional: The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted petitions declaring ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ and all other forms of “unilateral extra-judicial divorce” unconstitutional.
‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ is a practice of divorce among Muslims whereby a man dissolves a marriage by uttering the word ‘talaq’ once every month for a period of three months.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice SK Kaul directed the Centre, the National Commission for Women and the National Human Rights Commission to file their responses within four weeks.
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“Counsel for the private respondent (husband) was present today and sought confirmation that she is not willing to settle her maintenance as well.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Vikram Nasharat scheduled the final hearing in the third week of January,” the bench said.
The apex court heard three separate petitions, including one filed by Benazir Hina, a resident of Ghaziabad, who herself was a victim of unilateral extrajudicial talaq-e-hasan.
They had a demand for uniform divorce, and sought directions to the Center to formulate guidelines for this procedure.
The apex court had earlier impeached the husbands of the petitioners and sought a response to their petition.
The lawyer appearing on behalf of Benazir’s husband told the court at the beginning of the hearing today that no settlement is possible in the dispute with his wife.
In their response, the bench then asked for submissions and said it would hear the case in the third week of January 2023.
The top court said in August that its primary focus is to provide relief to women. Be humane to the victims of talaq-e-hasan before the constitutional validity of such divorce.
Talaq-i-Hasan, divorce becomes formal after the third utterance of the word ‘talaq’ in the third month if intercourse is not resumed within this period.
However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second pronouncement of divorce, then reconciliation will be presumed.