Supreme Court acted suo moto to test the validity of triple ‘talaq’ in Muslim Personal Law to protect the rights of Muslim women.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has said Supreme Court do not have jurisdiction to undertake the exercise as the community’s personal law based on Quran, which is not on a law enacted in the Parliament. It does not fall within the purview of the expression ‘laws in force’ as mentioned in Article 13 of the Indian Constitution and hence it’s validity cannot be challenged based on part III of the Constitution.
Further, the personal law of Muslims is an issue of freedom of conscience guaranteed under Article 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution.
In deciding on the rights of Muslim woman and safeguarding their rights, the Supreme Court cannot interfere with the arbitrary divorce and the second marriage by Muslim men.
The board also challenged the utility of the uniform civil code which it said was no guarantee of national integrity and solidarity, setting the example that shared Christian faith did not stop the two nations engaging in World Wars.
