AG to SC : Will come out with a law, if triple talaq struck down

The government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will come out with a law to regulate marriage and divorce among Muslims if triple talaq is held invalid and unconstitutional by the court.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar “If the practice of instant divorce (triple talaq) is struck down by the court, then Centre will bring a law to regulate marriage and divorce among the Muslim community.”

The significant observation was made when Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, said the issues of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ were also part of the order of a two-judge bench, which had referred to the Constitution bench the three issues including the practice of triple talaq among Muslims.

“The scope of referring had all the three issues that was divorce, nikah halala, polygamy. All these three issues are before this court by virtue of the reference order of the two-judge bench,” Rohatgi said.

Monday was the third day of the hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging triple talaq, polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ which is going on before a bench comprising members of different religious communities including Sikh, Christian, Parsee, Hindu and Muslim.

During the last hearing, the apex court had observed that triple talaq is the “worst” and “not a desirable” form of dissolution of marriage among the Muslims, even though there were schools of thought which called it “legal”.

The hearing last Friday also saw two veterans, jurist Ram Jethmalani and former Union Minister and Islamic scholar Arif Mohammad Khan, coming out all guns blazing against the practice of triple talaq.

 “Point taken, you have raised a very valid and good point,” the bench had said. The apex court has fixed a six-day schedule for hearing, in which three days are available for those challenging triple talaq and three days for those defending it.