CJI to set up 5-judge Constitution Bench on polygamy, 'nikah halala'

New Delhi, March 23

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would set up a new five-judge Constitution Bench at an “appropriate stage” to hear petitions seeking to declare Islamic practices of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ unconstitutional.

About these practices

Polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives while under ‘nikah halala’, a Muslim woman wanting to remarry her husband after divorce, is forced to first marry another man, get the marriage consummated and then get divorced by him.

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“I will consider it… At an appropriate stage, I will constitute a Constitution Bench,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud told advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, one of the petitioners who has challenged ‘nikah halala’ and Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code that allows polygamy.

The Supreme Court had on January 20 also said it would set up a fresh five-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions seeking to declare Islamic practices of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ unconstitutional. “There are very important matters which are pending before a five-judge Bench. We will constitute one and bear this matter in mind,” it had told Upadhyay.

Filed by some Muslim women, NGOs and Upadhyay, the petitions challenging the validity of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ were referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench in March 2018.

The five-judge Constitution Bench of Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Hemant Gupta, Justice Surya Kant, Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had on August 30 last year issued notices to the Centre, National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Minorities and others on nine petitions challenging these alleged discriminatory practices.