Polygamy petition to be heard early

NOTICES HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO MINISTRIES OF LAW AND JUSTICE AND MINORITY AFFAIRS AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider an early hearing of challenges to polygamy and “nikah halala” and said these petitions would come up for hearing before a Constitution bench after the federal government files its response.

The court’s response came after lawyers for a woman petitioner who challenged the practices, told a bench led by the Chief Justice of India that she was under pressure to withdraw.

Senior advocate V Shekhar and advocate Archana Pathak Dave told the bench that their client, Sameena Begum, had been threatened by her in-laws to either withdraw the plea or be thrown out of her matrimonial home.“wewilllookintoit,” said CJI Dipak Misra, adding the petitions can be listed for a hearing after the Centre files its response.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Tushar Mehta told the court that the government will respond soon; it has already said it will support the petitions.

Last August, the SC banned the age-old practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ among Sunni Muslims. On March 26 this year, it referred to a larger bench, petitions challenging polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among Muslims.

While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, ‘nikah halala’ deals with the practice in which a Muslim woman, who wants to remarry her husband after a divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after the consummation of the union.