The Supreme Court came down heavily against the practice of Talaq-e-Hasan during a hearing on Wednesday — broaching the possibility of abrogation. The apex court also stressed the need for intervention against “gross discriminatory practices” and added that the matter could be referred to a five-judge bench. The practice is a legally permitted version of triple talaq wherein a Muslim man can divorce his wife by using the word “talaq” once a month for three consecutive months.
“Once you give us a brief note we will consider the desirability of referring to a 5-judge bench. Give us broadly the questions that may arise. Then we will see how those are predominantly legal in nature that the court must resolve…Society at large is involved. Some remedial measures have to be taken. If there are gross discriminatory practices, then the court has to interfere,” Bar & Bench quoted the apex court as saying.
Talaq given by husband’s lawyer!
The Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a PIL filed by journalist Benazeer Heena which called for the practice to be declared unconstitutional. Heena claimed that her husband had sent the talaq notices via speed post over the course of three months. Her counsel noted that the journalist now risked polyandry accusations because the notice was sent by an advocate representing her husband and did not even carry his signature.
“What kind of thing is this? How are you promoting this in 2025? Whatever best religious practice we follow, is this what you allow? Is this how a dignity of a woman be upheld? Should a civilised society allow this kind of practice?” Justice Kant asked.
The public interest litigation filed in 2022 had also sought guidelines for gender and religion-free policies for the dissolution of marriages.
What is Talaq-e-Hasan?
Talaq-e-Hasan is a legally recognised form of divorce under Muslim personal law in India that allows the husband to pronounce ‘talaq’ once a month — dissolving the marriage after three utterances. It is akin to a slower version of the now-abolished practice of triple talaq. This iteration includes a roughly 90 day waiting period to allow for possible reconciliation. The divorce is considered automatically revoked if the couple resumes living together during this ‘iddat’ period.