The Pinnacle Court Said Talaq-e-Hasan Not Same As Triple Talaq, Women Have Option

The Supreme Court has said the practice of divorce in Muslims through 'Talaq-e-Hasan' - which is pronounced once a month over a period of three months - isn't corresponding to triple talaq and also the women even have an option of 'khula'.

In Islam, a person can take "talaq", while a lady can part ways together with her husband through "khula".

A bench of Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh said if husband and wife cannot live together, it may also grant divorce on the bottom of irretrievable breakdown under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The top court was hearing a plea seeking to declare 'Talaq-e-Hasan' and every one other sorts of "unilateral extra-judicial talaq as void and unconstitutional", claiming they were "arbitrary, irrational, and violated fundamental rights".

"This isn't triple talaq in this sense. Marriage being contractual in nature, you furthermore may have an option of khula. If two people cannot live together, we are granting divorce on ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Are you hospitable divorce by mutual consent if 'mehar' (gift given in cash or kind by groom to bride) is taken care of? "Prima facie, i do not believe petitioners. i do not want this to become an agenda for the other reason," the bench observed.

Senior advocate Pinky Anand, appearing for the petitioner Benazeer Heena, submitted that though the highest court has declared triple talaq unconstitutional, it left the difficulty of Talaq-e-Hasan undecided.

The top court asked Anand to hunt instructions whether visible of allegation of the irrevocable breakdown of marriage, would the petitioner be willing for settlement by process of divorce on amount being paid over and above 'mehar'.

It also told the petitioner that dissolution of marriage is additionally possible without the intervention of this court through 'mubarat' and asked her counsel to hunt instructions.

The top court will now hear the matter on August 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 border guidelines for neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.

In Talaq-e-Hasan, divorce gets formalised after the third utterance within the third month if cohabitation isn't resumed during this era. However, if cohabitation resumes after the primary or second utterance of talaq, the parties are assumed to possess reconciled and therefore the first or second utterances of talaq are deemed invalid.