SC to hear plea filed by triple talaq victim tomorrow

The Supreme court today agreed to hear a plea of a Muslim woman who challenged the Talaq given to her by the husband as a violation of the supreme court judgement and has alleged to be thrown out by the husband and his family since she was not able to fulfil their dowry demands.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Friday a plea of a Muslim woman challenging the Talaq given to her by the husband as violation of Supreme Court judgement on Triple Talaq.

32-year old Ruby had approached the top court to declare the Talaq issued by her husband illegal. The woman said her husband had thrown her out of the house and issued two notices of Talaq in a violation of the top court's judgement and Triple Talaq ordinance.

A Bench of Indira Banerjee and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said it will hear the case on Friday after the woman's counsel mentioned the matter for urgent hearing.

The petitioner Ruby Mansoori said, "I request the court to give me justice. Talaq that was given by my husband is illegal. I should be allowed to stay back with him. Where will I go with my kids?" The 32-year-old alleged that her in-laws used to thrash her for not giving dowry. "They demanded Rs 5 lakh and a car from me, but when I failed to provide it, they threw me out of the house on March 19. After that my husband sent me a divorce notice on March 25," she said.

MM Kashyap, appearing on the behalf of Ruby, said that he has prayed in the petition to cancel the divorce notice.

The petition said the Talaq given to her was against the 'Triple Talaq' judgement of the apex court.

'Triple talaq' is a customary practice, prevalent among Muslims, that dissolves a marriage when the husband says the word 'Talaq' thrice. The custom is criticised for being unilateral and biased against women.

The Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 27 last year with 245 votes in favour and 11 against the Bill. The opposition parties wanted the Bill to be sent to the Select Committee of Parliament for further vetting, a demand which was rejected by the Centre.

However, an ordinance was re-promulgated in January this year as the revised Bill could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks a majority.

The Bill criminalises the practice of instant 'triple talaq' with a provision of three years imprisonment to the erring husband.

The issue of triple talaq was taken up in the Parliament in August last year after a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled "unconstitutional" a practice that allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering "talaq" three times in quick succession.

In February, the Union Cabinet had approved "Triple Talaq" ordinance.

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