The Supreme Court has once again adopted a strict stance regarding the practices of divorce in Muslim society. In fact, during the hearing on the petition challenging Talaq-e-Hassan, the Supreme Court raised the question whether such a one-sided process can be accepted in a civilized society. Regarding this, the bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan and Justice Kotishwar Singh has indicated to send Talaq-e-Hassan to a larger bench of five judges. In this case, petitioner Benazir Hina has termed the divorce notice sent by her husband through her lawyer as unconstitutional. In such a situation, let us tell you today how many types of divorce are there apart from triple talaq and what is the difference between them.

On which case is the Supreme Court hearing?

Actually, petitioner Benazir Hina was given unilateral divorce by her husband Yusuf through Talaq-e-Hassan. Regarding this, the woman says that this practice violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women and is against Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. He has also challenged Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law Application Act 1937, which allows a Muslim man to grant divorce on one hand. In 2017, the Supreme Court had declared instant triple talaq invalid in Shayara Bano vs. Union of India and other cases regarding this type of divorce. Along with this, Muslim Women Marriage Act 2019 was also implemented. There are five types of divorce in the Muslim community.

Types of divorce in Muslim community

talaq-e-ahsan

In Islamic law, Talaq-e-Hassan is considered the most correct and peaceful method of divorce. In this, the husband pronounces talaq once and waits for the period of Iddat i.e. about 3 months. During this time, if an agreement is reached between the two, then the divorce is automatically considered cancelled. This method provides a thoughtful process to end the relationship without any dispute and without any haste.

talaq-e-hasan

In Talaq-e-Hassan, the husband pronounces talaq thrice at a particular time of the month. But all three times the divorce is pronounced in three different months. In this, between the first and second time the husband has a chance to improve the relationship. At the same time, if divorce is given even for the third time, the marriage is considered to be over. This is also counted among the valid and better methods of divorce in Shariat.

open

Open divorce is the method in which the wife initiates the divorce. In this, the wife asks her husband for permission to end the marriage and usually returns dowry or some financial things. If the husband agrees, the divorce takes place openly. If the husband does not agree, then women can apply for divorce in the Islamic Council or court. This is considered an important right given to women in Islam.

Mubarat

In Mubarat, divorce is not done by either of the husband or wife but with the mutual consent of both. In this both agree that the marriage cannot continue any longer. This method is considered a peaceful and mutual way to end the marriage.

talaq-e-biddat

Talaq-e-Biddat means triple talaq. This is the method of divorce which has been most discussed in the Muslim community in India and which has now been banned by law in India. In this, the husband ends the marriage by pronouncing triple talaq in one go. This is considered inferior and hasty method even in Islam. Therefore it was abolished.

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Kerala High Court has given an important decision. In fact, the Kerala High Court gave a historic decision saying that a Muslim man cannot register his second marriage without informing his first wife. As long as the first marriage is valid and the wife is alive. The court has made it clear that before registering the second marriage, it will be necessary for the man to send a notice to his first wife and obtain her consent. If the first wife objects to this, the registrar will have to send the case to the civil court to confirm the validity of the second marriage. The court has cited Kerala Marriage Registration Rules 2008 for this.

What was the matter?

This decision of the Kerala High Court came on the petition of a Muslim man and his second wife. Who had challenged the decision of Thrikkaripur Gram Panchayat of Kasargod district of Kerala. The Panchayat had refused to register the man’s second marriage. The petitioner had admitted that he had a first wife and two children. He claimed that he had married for the second time in 2017 only with the consent of his first wife and he only wanted to secure the property rights of his second wife and the children born to him. On this petition, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said that Muslim personal law allows a man to have more than one marriage. But this cannot take away anyone’s constitutional right to a normal and fair trial.

Kerala High Court said that when a man wants to register a marriage, he should respect the constitutional orders. According to the rules of 2008, a Muslim man cannot register his second marriage without informing his first wife, with whom his marriage is still valid. The court further said that if a husband neglects his wife, does not maintain her or tortures her and then marries a second time citing personal law, then it would be fair to give the first wife a chance to be heard. Justice Kunhikrishnan said that gender equality is a constitutional right of every citizen; At the same time, men are not superior to women in this, it is not only a women’s issue but also a human issue.

Court’s comment on Quran and Shariat also

The court said that according to the Quran, more than one marriage is valid but the husband has to do justice to all the wives. Although the Quran does not require the consent of the first wife for a second marriage, informing her and taking her opinion is in line with the principles of justice and transparency. The court found that the petitioner did not make his first wife a party in the case, hence his petition was rejected.

However, the court has allowed that he can apply for re-registration. In such a situation, the register will have to send a notice to the first wife and give her an opportunity to present her views. At the same time, this decision of the court is being considered as a news of relief for those women whose husbands remarry without their knowledge. The High Court has made it clear that constitutional rights are above personal law and no woman’s rights can be taken away without hearing her.

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