New Delhi, October 21: Nearly three months after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Act, 2019 - the Bill which criminalises the practice of triple talaq - was enacted into a law, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has moved the Supreme Court seeking its revocation. The top Islamic body in India filed a writ petition before the apex court on Monday, through senior advocate MR Shamshed. The date for hearing the plea is yet to be fixed. Kerala: Case Registered Against Man for Giving Triple Talaq After Woman, 2 Children Protest Outside His House.
The AIMPLB had in July announced that it would be exercising its legal rights in bid to nullify the triple talaq law. The Bill, which was passed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in both Houses of the Parliament, has been called "anti-constitutional" by critics.
The opponents of the law allege that it violates the fundamental right to equality, as a Muslim man will be sentenced to three year imprisonment for divorcing his wife through talaq-e-bidat, whereas, a person of any other faith illegally divorcing his spouse would get a maximum jail-term of one year.
Update by ANI:
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) today filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, challenging Triple Talaq Act, criminalising the act of 'talaq-e-biddat'. Petition was filed, on their behalf, by MR Shamshad, Advocate on Record (AOR) and Supreme Court lawyer.
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019
Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who is a member of the AIMPLB, had alleged that the triple talaq law in its current form would serve no other purpose but to "break Muslim households".
Owaisi said the government should explain how the wife would be provided monthly maintenance when the husband would be jailed for giving her triple talaq. He further asked the government to explain how triple talaq could be considered as divorce, as the Supreme Court judgement of 2017 had declared the practice as null and void.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had brushed off the apprehensions raised by the Personal Law Board, claiming that the triple talaq law is only aimed at empowering the Muslim women. "This should not be viewed through political prism. The law is not targeting any community but only empowering women," he had said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 21, 2019 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).