A divided verdict

The long-drawn battle over triple talaq should now end with the Supreme Court, through a 3-2 majority, declaring it as unconstitutional and banning it for six months, hoping Parliament would pass a law by then. The apex court has wisely set a time limit and resisted the temptation to create a law itself, which is not its job. The judgment provides relief to Muslim women fighting for equality. A verbal divorce, which lately has gone to the ridiculous level of being delivered on the Skype or through a WhatsApp message, is plainly arbitrary and retrograde. Several Muslim countries have outlawed it. Triple talaq gives men an unfair advantage over women. In an instant a divorced woman is thrown out in the street. The threat of divorce leads to her subjugation and denial of equal rights as an individual.   

Opposition to the judgment from conservative Muslims is understandable. However, the Supreme Court itself was split over certain issues. The majority view on the Constitution Bench, consisting of all-male judges drawn from different faiths, is that triple talaq is not sanctioned by the Koran, hence it cannot be part of the fundamental right to religion. It is not “integral to religious practice and violates constitutional morality”.  The dissenting opinion expressed by Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer is that triple talaq “may be sinful”, but the court can’t interfere in personal laws which have the status of fundamental right under the Constitution.  

Even though lower courts in the past have given judgments on similar lines against triple talaq, the issue this time has been politicised and blown out of proportion. This is partly because of noisy, polarising debates in TV studios and partly because BJP spokespersons have shown unusual interest in the subject. Muslims have apprehensions about the BJP’s gender politics. The party, they fear, might try to divide them for votes. Lynchings and mob violence over beef and cows have strengthened that fear. The fact that it is a court verdict and not a BJP government’s order should set at rest their worries. They can draw comfort from the court’s interpretation that triple talaq is not backed by the Koran.