Talaq-e-hasan is the practice by which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by saying the word talaq once a month over a three-month period
The Delhi High Court has sought a response of the Delhi Police and a Muslim man whose wife has sought to declare a notice of talaq-e-hasan sent to her as void and unconstitutional.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the man, Commissioner of Delhi Police, and SHO of Dabri Police Station on the woman’s petition against talaq-e-hasan.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on 18 August.
The woman, in her plea, sought to declare the 2 June notice of talaq-e-hasan sent to her by her husband to “void being in the form of unilateral extra judicial talaq and to be unconstitutional, arbitrary, irrational, contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and provisions of United Nations Conventions of Human Civil Rights”.
Let’s take a look at what talaq-e-hasan is, how it is different from triple talaq and what experts say about its constitutional validity:
What is it?
Talaq-e-hasan is the practice by which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by saying the word talaq once a month, over a three-month period.
Talaq-e-hasan is one of the forms of triple talaq among Muslims.
As per IAS parliament, talaq-e-hasan is pronounced with a gap of at least one month or one menstrual cycle.
Only a single revocable divorce takes place through the first pronouncement of talaq-e-hasan.
Couples are supposed to live together after this pronouncement and have the option of reconciliation, as per the website.
At the end of this month, the husband has to pronounce divorce for the second time which is revocable, and the couple may resume their conjugal relationship anytime they so desire.
If the third pronouncement is made after at least one menstrual cycle, then irrevocable divorce takes place.
No divorce can be administered when the woman is undergoing her menstrual cycle or pregnancy, as per the website.
Unlike triple talaq, talaq-e-hasan is mentioned in the Quran, as per the website.
How is it different from triple talaq?
Triple talaq allows a man to divorce his wife in one go. It ends the marriage instantly and thus provides no scope for reconciliation.
The Supreme Court of India had in 2017 had ruled that the practice of divorce among Muslims through triple talaq is “void, illegal and unconstitutional”, in a majority verdict.
The five-judge bench, which consisted of top judges of the apex court who belonged to five different religious faiths, held that the triple talaq is against the basic tenets of Quran.
Triple talaq has been banned in many Muslim countries including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Malaysia.
What do experts say about talaq-e-hasan?
Advocate-on-Record Supreme Court of India Fidous Wani told The Wire: “Divorce was introduced in Islam to give an option to both men and women to end a marriage in case they are not leading happy lives together. Talaq-e-hasan is the procedure of divorce to be followed by men mentioned in Quran. There is nothing arbitrary about it because women also have the right to take divorce, the process of initiation of divorce at the instance of a woman is called ‘Khula’. Talaq-e-hasan is an essential religious practice.”
Senior advocate Firdouse Mirza said: “Quran gives both men and women the right to divorce in case they’re unable to keep their marriage. For men the procedure given by Quran is Talaq-e-hasan; for women the procedure to give divorce is called khula. Since women in Islam are also given the right to divorce a man in case they are unhappy in marriage, there is no question of talaq practice being unilateral. Talaq-e-hasan cannot be declared unconstitutional because it is a procedure to seek dissolution in marriage and declaring it unconstitutional will deprive men from their right to seek divorce as per his religion.”
Petitioner seeks police protection
The plea also sought to direct religious groups, bodies, and leaders that “permit and propagate such practices not to force the petitioner woman to act according to the Sharia Law and accept talaq-e-hasan”.
It also sought direction to the police to protect her from religious groups and bodies in case any force is used against her to accept talaq-e-hasan.
The woman claimed that she got married to the man in September 2020 and alleged that her in-laws compelled her widow mother to organise a lavish marriage ceremony and demanded dowry.
She alleged that despite fulfilling their unjustified demands of cash and expensive gifts, she was tortured physically and mentally after which she filed a domestic violence complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women and also lodged an FIR in December 2021.
The plea said that to avoid any action against him and his family, the man preferred the route of talaq-e-hasan and gave her first notice just to extort her to withdraw all legal action against him.
Plea challenging validity pending in SC
A plea challenging the validity of the practice of talaq-e-hasan is also pending in the Supreme Court.
The petition, filed by Ghaziabad resident, Benazeer Heena, who claimed to be a victim of “unilateral extra-judicial talaq-e-hasan”, also sought a direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for neutral and uniform grounds of divorce and procedure for all citizens.
The petitioner, who claimed to have been given such a divorce, contended that the police and authorities told her that talaq-e-hasan is permitted under Sharia.
“The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, conveys a wrong impression that the law sanctions talaq-e-hasan and all other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq, which is grossly injurious to the fundamental rights of married Muslim women and offends Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India and the international conventions on civil and human rights,” the petition, filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, submitted.
It further claimed that many Islamic nations have restricted such a practice, while it continues to vex the Indian society in general and Muslim women like the petitioner in particular.
The practice also wreaks havoc on many women and their children, especially those belonging to the weaker economic sections of the society, it added.
With inputs from agencies
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