india

Updated: Sep 14, 2019 01:15 IST

The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition challenging the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which makes the practice of instant triple talaq a punishable offence entailing imprisonment of up to three years, and sought response from the Centre.

A bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana, also tagged the fresh petition by Muslim Advocates Association with other pleas challenging the law.

The top court had on August 22, 2017 rendered instant triple talaq unconstitutional in the Shayara Bano case. The government has based the criminal law against talaq-e-biddat on this judgment. Last month, the court issued notice in three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the triple talaq law, filed by the Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Sayyed Farooq and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.

Jamiat-Ulema-I-Hind, one of the leading organisations of Islamic scholars, in its petition, has called the central legislation not only disproportionate, but also extremely excessive and stringent. “There are graver offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for which lesser punishment is prescribed,” the petition stated. It also argued that section 4 of the Act punishes a guilty Muslim man with three years of imprisonment and shall also be liable to pay fine.