On the second day of its hearing on the contentious issue of triple talaq, the Supreme Court today said the instant, oral divorce prevalent among Muslims is the "worst and undesirable form" of the dissolution of a marriage, even though there were schools of thought within Indian Islam which termed it as "legal".

There are "school of thoughts (which) say that triple talaq is legal, but it is the worst and not desirable form for dissolution of marriages among Muslims," a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, said as the Supreme Court continued its hearing for the second straight day on the matter.

The Supreme Court's observation is a part of its historic hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of triple talaq and 'nikah halala' among Muslims that began on Thursday with a simple question: is the practice of triple talaq fundamental to Islam?

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW In the hearing today, former Union Minister and senior advocate Salman Khurshid, who is assisting the court in the matter, said the Supreme Court is not interfering with Islam by discussing the matter. "Islam has been affected by the synthetic culture of India. The court doesn't have to transform Islam into a human face. It is not interfering in the religion, it is rather helping the religion," he said. Khurshid made the remarks in response to Chief Justice Khehar's queries. "Is triple talaq a customary practice or something which is fundamental to religion? The question is: is it customary or a Shariah (Islamic) law? Can something which is sinful be a part of Shariah? There are some people who consider death penalty as sinful but it's legal?", he asked. At this, Justice Nariman - one of the five judges hearing the matter - told Khurshid, "Please be careful about the difference between theory and practice. On the one hand, you say we can't reform religion, and then you ask us to reform so that you are not punished by God." Chief Justice Khehar also asked Khurshid if triple talaq exists outside India, to which Khurshid answered in the negative. A number of Muslim countries - including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia - have abolished the practice of triple talaq. Appearing for one of the triple talaq victims, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani called the practice unconstitutional. "We cannot enforce discrimination on women merely because of their gender. Any rule enforceable by court has to be non-discriminatory. Triple talaq is unconstitutional. Article 14 and Article 15 give protection from discrimination and right to equality. The method of triple talaq abhorrent must be done away with," he said. In its day-long hearing on Thursday, the apex court's constitution bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar also made it clear that the issue of polygamy among the Muslims may not be deliberated upon as it is not connected with the triple talaq issue. The government's counsel made it clear on Thursday that triple talaq as a form of divorce was against gender justice and asserted that it was not part of the religious tenets. Assailing the practise of triple talaq, senior counsel Indira Jaising said that if the free informed consent of the woman was imperative for the union of two people in marriage, then how could the unilateral act of divorce survive. Telling the bench that triple talaq was an extra-judicial act and thus unconstitutional, Jaising told the court that can the status of a woman be changed unilaterally, which she described as "civil death". Jaising, who appeared for the intervenors Bebak Collective and Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, told the bench that all the personal laws should be subject to fundamental rights and "constitution should not stop where personal law starts and all the personal laws, be it of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other, should stand the scrutiny of the fundamental rights". Another former Union Minister and counsel for All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Kapil Sibal, called triple talaq "a non-issue, as no prudent Muslim would wake up one fine morning and say talaq, talaq and talaq". Sibal said that either Parliament can enact a law or it should be left to the community itself to deal and the court should not interfere on the issue.

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