SC seeks govt stand on talaq guidelines

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea seeking a direction to frame and implement uniform procedural safeguards and guidelines governing all forms of talaq (divorce) under Muslim personal law. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that they have also challenged the validity of Talaq-e-Hasan. Talaq-e-Hasan is a form of divorce among Muslims where a man can dissolve a marriage by pronouncing the word talaq once every month over a three-month period.

The bench tagged the plea with a separate pending petition filed by a Muslim woman, who has challenged the validity of Talaq-e-Hasan given by her husband.

The fresh plea has sought a direction to the authorities to declare Talaq-e-Hasan and other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq an evil that needs to be banned.

It sought a direction to the authorities to provide, in a retrospective and continuing manner, adequate economic and social protection measures for divorced women and their children affected by arbitrary forms of talaq.