Another Muslim divorce practice has landed under the Supreme Court’s scanner. This time, it’s Talaq-e-Hasan, a form of divorce that resembles triple talaq.
The apex court, on Wednesday, said that it is considering examining the validity of Talaq-e-Hasan, 8 years after it declared triple talaq unconstitutional.
So, what is Talaq-e-Hasan, and how is it different from triple talaq?
Unlike triple talaq, where a Muslim man can dissolve the marriage after uttering ‘talaq’ 3 times instantaneously, Talaq-e-Hasan stretches over three months.
Under this practice, a husband pronounces talaq once a month for three consecutive months. And if the couple doesn’t resume cohabitation in that period, the divorce becomes final.
Unlike triple talaq, which instantaneously and irrevocably terminates the marriage, Talaq-e-Hasan provides enough time for the couple to rethink the divorce.
Moreover, husbands can also authorise any person, mostly lawyers, to give a divorce notice to their wives on their behalf.
Men as well as women have the option to practice extra-judicial divorce. Men can get a divorce through Talaq-e-Hasan and women can practice it through Khula.
The apex court intervened on Wednesday, after many Muslim women who faced Talaq-e-Hasan filed a batch of petitions challenging its validity.
A three-bench court deprecated this extra-judicial Islamic practice and sought submissions from the All India Muslim Personnel Law Board and Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama to intervene in the matter.
