SC to hear pleas against polygamy and nikah halala

Subject :Polity

Section: Msc

Concept :

The Supreme Court said it will set up a fresh five-judge Constitution bench at an “appropriate stage” to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among Muslims.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala was urged by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed a PIL on the issue, that section 494 of the Indian Penal Code allows ploygamy, halala etc. and needs to be struck down.
Polygamy– It allows a Muslim man to have four wives.

Nikah halala

The Koran allows a man to divorce his wife a maximum of two times.
If the man divorces his wife for the third time, he is not allowed to marry her again.
This bar was laid down in order to save women from temperamental husbands who divorce in a fit of anger, then cancel it, then divorce again, unleashing an endless cycle of marriage and divorce.
After the third talaq, the woman becomes an independent being with full choice over her life and it empowers them to take independent decisions.
Nikah halala- It deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, who wants to re-marry her husband after divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after consummation.
Prevalence- No cases of halala have been reported from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Yemen.
In India, the Muslim Women’s Protection of Rights on Marriage, passed after invalidation of triple talaq by the Supreme Court, is silent on nikah halala.

What procedures are followed by Muslims for divorce?

Instant triple talaq (Talaq-e-biddat)- In instant triple talaq a man pronounces multiple divorce in one go.
It has no scope for reconciliation between the couple, and often ends a marriage instantly.
It is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran which prescribes a code of divorce.
Instant triple talaq has been banned in many Muslim countries, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Malaysia.
Instant triple talaq is banned in India.

Talaq-e-Hasan-

Talaq-e-Hasan is pronounced with a gap of at least one month or one menstrual cycle.
Only a single revocable divorce takes place through the first pronouncement of Talaq-e-Hasan and the couples are supposed to live together after this pronouncement and have the option of rapprochement.
At the end of this month, the husband has to pronounce divorce for the second time which is revocable, and the couple may resume their conjugal relationship anytime they desire.
If the third pronouncement is made after at least one menstrual cycle, then irrevocable divorce takes place.
No divorce can be administered when the woman is undergoing her menstrual cycle or pregnancy.
Unlike instant triple talaq, the Quran clearly mentions the process of Talaq-e-Hasan.
Talaq-e-Ahsan- Under this form, a single pronouncement is made following which a woman has to go through iddat or a waiting period of three months.
During this period the divorce can be cancelled and the failure to annul divorce during this period results in divorce.
Khula- In Khula, a woman gives something to the man in return for annulling the marriage.
For men the procedure given by Quran to divorce is Talaq-e-Hasan; for women the procedure to give divorce is called khula.
Mubarat- In Mubarat, both the parties desire divorce.