Triple talaq: Court issues notice to Centre after Muslim woman says she was divorced over the phone
The Howrah resident said she 'wanted justice' as she did not 'accept the talaq by phone' and also sought maintenance to bring up her children.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the central government after it heard a plea by a Muslim woman which challenged the Constitutional validity of the triple talaq practice, The Indian Express reported. The court has attached Ishrat Jahan’s plea with the other petitions on the matter already pending before it. Jahan, a resident of Howrah, West Bengal, alleged that in April last year, her husband of 15 years, Murtuza, had said talaq thrice over the phone from Dubai and disconnected the call.
Jahan said, “I don’t accept the talaq by phone. I want justice. I want my three daughters and one son back from my husband who snatched them away.” She added that she had approached the court to get maintenance “for their upbringing” and will “fight to the finish”, according to NDTV. The woman had also opposed and tried to stop Murtuza’s second marriage.
Her lawyer, Nazia Elahi Khan, who was also divorced using the Islamic rule, said cases of talaq over emails, phone calls and text messages were on the rise. “I hope the Muslim Personal Law Board will support our case that talaq over phone is not Islamic,” she said.
The age-old practice of triple talaq has been challenged by Muslim women from across the country. While hearing many such petitions, the Supreme Court said it will examine the validity of the Islamic rule, verify whether it violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women and come out with a verdict on September 6. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan had also written a letter to the National Commission for Women, seeking their help in scrapping triple talaq.