SC seeks data on cases filed under law criminalising triple talaq

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to provide data on the number of cases registered under the 2019 Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Act, which criminalises triple talaq, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Muslim organisations challenging the constitutionality of the Act.

Triple talaq allows a Muslim man to instantly divorce his wife by pronouncing “talaq” three times.

The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Act criminalises instant triple talaq, or Talaq-e-Biddah, and provides for imprisonment of up to three years for any man who seeks to divorce his wife in this manner.

The Act was notified on July 31, 2019, and came into force with retrospective effect on September 19, 2018. The law was implemented over a year after instant triple talaq was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on August 22, 2017.

On Wednesday, the court asked the Union government to provide the number of first information reports filed under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, and any challenges pending before the High Courts against the enactment, Live Law reported.

Section 3 of the Act makes it illegal for a Muslim husband to pronounce talaq on his wife, while Section 4 states that he can…

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