Triple Talaq: Reforms Must Not Be Imposed

The government should avoid meddling in the personal affairs of Muslims as each community needs to be given its space and rights so long as these do not interfere with the rights of others

- Vipin Pubby

The stand taken by the NDA government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party before the Supreme Court — that it opposes the Muslim practice of triple talaq — has kicked off a controversy. Even though the cleverly drafted reply of the central government avoided the use of the workmen Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the almost simultaneous Law Commission’s questionnaire seeking public opinion on the viability of UCC has left left little doubt about the government’s intentions.

The government’s response comes to a petition filed by a Muslim woman who argued that triple talaq was unconstitutional and violative of a woman’s fundamental rights. The couple have four small children and the petitioner alleged that her husband had even taken away her children after pronouncing triple talaq.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) takes the stand that courts cannot interfere with personal laws. It accuses the government of attempting to sneak in UCC under the garb of promoting gender equality by its opposition to triple talaq in the Supreme Court and argues that personal law cannot be rewritten in the name of reforms.

Contesting the plea, the central government affidavit states that gender equality is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and that it is “nonnegotiable”. This is the first time that any government has officially taken a stand to oppose the custom of triple talaq, although such a demand was made earlier too by individuals and women’s groups seeking equality and reforms in Muslim personal law.