Supreme Court today began hearing petitions challenging the practices of triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala.

Framing these issues, the constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and Justices Kurian Joseph, R.F Nariman, U.U. Lalit and Abdul Nazeer at the outset said the following important things:

1) We will examine whether triple talaq is fundamental to Muslim religion?

2) If there is an enforceable right?

3) We will not go into polygamy and Nikah halala and only confine ourselves to examining the constitutional validity of triple talaq.

4) If we come to a conclusion that triple talaq is part of fundamental right to religion, we would not interfere.

A bench headed by chief justice J S Khehar had referred the petitions to a constitution bench and had said first shall be framed before day-to-day hearings commence.

Taking ahead its hearing on batch of petitions, one of them taken by recurring complaints of gender discrimination suffered by Muslim women arising out of several rules in its personal laws, the Supreme Court said it would decide issues pertaining to legal aspects of the practices of triple talaq, ‘nikah halala’ and polygamy among Muslims and would not deal with the question whether divorce under Muslim law needs to be supervised by courts as it falls under the legislative domain.
The bench had earlier made it clear that it was not dealing with the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which is currently being examined by the Law Commission of India.

The bench had earlier made it clear that it was not dealing with the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which is currently being examined by the Law Commission of India.