On August 22, 2017 the Supreme Court announced its judgement on the issue of instant triple talaq with majority of 3:2Â .They banned “triple talaq”, or instant divorce and termed as void or invalid.
Triple talaq is the practice under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by simply uttering “talaq” three times. It is common among India’s Muslim community majority of whom follow the Hanafi Islamic school of law.
What is Triple talaq?
Triple talaq is a form of divorce in Islam . It allowed any Muslim man to legally divorce his wife by stating the word talaq (the Arabic word for “divorce). The pronouncement could be oral or written, or, in recent times, delivered by electronic means such as telephone, SMS, email or social media.Â
 Two kinds of Talaq:
- Talaq-ul-Sunnat or revocable Talaq, and
- Talaq-ul-Bidaat or irrevocable Talaq.
The Talaq-ul-Sunnat or revocable Talaq may be pronounced either in the Ahsan form or in the Hasan form. Talaq-ul-Sunnat may be further sub-divided into: (i) Talaq Ahsan (most proper) and; (ii) Talaq Hasan (Proper). Talaq-ul-Bidaat is irrevocable and becomes effective as soon as it is pronounced in any way, indicating husband’s desire to dissolve the marriage.
Petition against the triple talaq
Some of Muslim women were filed the public interest litigation in the Supreme Court against this practice.
In March 2017, over 1 million Indian Muslims including majority of women were signed a petition to end triple talaq. The petition was started by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an Islamic organisation affiliated to the right wing Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Judgement on August 22,2017 by supreme court:
Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer were in favour of putting a stay on triple talaq for six months on practice, asking the government to prepare the required legislation. Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman and U U Lalit held it as violative of the Constitution.
The government has mentioned the practice of instant divorce is already banned in 20 Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that have banned triple talaq.