The Allahabad High Court has not “struck down” Triple Talaq

Contrary to various news reports, the Allahabad High Court did not determine the constitutionality or the legality of the Islamic practice of triple talaq. It did, however, note that its “judicial conscience” was disturbed by the practice, which it described as a “monstrosity”..In a judgment dated November 5 this year, Justice Suneet Kumar had made a number of observations on the practice, the constitutionality of which is currently under the Supreme Court’s scanner..Hearing a challenge to a particular case where a Muslim man divorced his wife through triple talaq, the High Court described its interpretation of the Quran as regards the practice..“It is a popular fallacy that a Muslim male enjoys, under the Quaranic Law, unbridled authority to liquidate the marriage. The whole Quoran expressly forbids a man to seek pretexts for divorcing his wife, so long as she remains faithful and obedient to him…”.It also referred to previous apex court decisions on the subject, including Yousuf Rawther v. Sowramma and Shamim Ara, in which it was held,.“The correct law of talaq as ordained by the Holy Quran is that talaq must be for a reasonable cause and be preceded by attempts at reconciliation between the husband and the wife by two arbiters- one from the wife’s family and the other from the husband’s; if the attempts fail, talaq may be effected.”.The court went on to opine that personal laws are less superior to rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India..“The instant divorce (Triple Talaq) though has been deprecated and not followed by all sects of Muslim community in the country, however, is a cruel and the most demeaning form of divorce practised by the Muslim community at large. Women cannot remain at the mercy of the patriarchal setup….…Personal laws, of any community, cannot claim supremacy over the rights granted to the individuals by the Constitution.”.Despite making these observations, the court did not make a ruling, noting that the Supreme Court is seized of the matter..Earlier this year, a petition was filed in the apex court by one Shayara Bano, challenging the constitutionality of the Islamic practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala. In February, a bench of the Justice Anil R Dave and AK Goel had issued notice in the matter..When the matter came up for hearing last in June, Chief Justice TS Thakur hinted that the issue would require the attention of a Constitution bench..Read the Allahabad High Court judgment below: