Muslim Personal Law Case

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The Supreme Court has received a number of petitions contesting the constitutionality of the Muslim Personal Law-permitted polygamy and Nikah Halala practices.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Commission on Women (NCW), and the National Commission on Minorities have received notices from a five-judge Constitution Bench.

Arguments of the Petitioners

• The petitioners want polygamy and Nikah-Halala outlawed because they claim it violates Muslim spouses' fundamental rights and leaves them exceedingly vulnerable and insecure.
• Insofar as it seeks to recognize and validate the practice of polygamy and nikah-halala, they prayed that Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act be declared unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 (right to equality), 15 (discrimination on the basis of religion), and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution.
• Because personal laws are not covered by the Constitution, the SC is unable to consider whether certain activities are lawful.
• They argue that even the Supreme Court and different High Courts have already declined to intervene with activities that are permitted under personal law. This is a claim that was made in the triple talaq case, which the SC has already rejected.

About Muslim Personal Law

• Men are permitted to engage in polygamy, or having multiple wives at once, up to a maximum of four, in accordance with Sharia, or Muslim personal law.
• A Muslim woman must follow the "Nikah halala" procedure, in which she must first marry another person and divorce him before being permitted to remarry her divorced husband.

In what ways was Muslim Law Applied in India?

• In 1937, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act was created with the intention of creating an Islamic legal system for Muslims in India.
• In order to ensure that Indians were governed in accordance with their own cultural norms, the British, who were at the time in charge of India, made this a priority.
• They stated that, in deciding which laws applied to Hindus and which applied to Muslims, "clear proof of usage will outweigh the written content of the law" in the case of Hindus. On the other hand, the writings in the Quran would be of utmost significance to Muslims.

Personal Laws of Other Religions

• Hindu, Buddhist, Jains, and Sikh property inheritance laws are outlined in the Hindu Succession Act of 1956.
• The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936 outlines the regulations that must be adhered to by the Parsis in accordance with their spiritual practices.
• Laws governing Hindu marriage were formalized in the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

Is the Shariat Application Act in India Unchangeable?

• The Shariat Act's applicability has generated debate over the years. Defending women's rights as a component of more general fundamental rights has occasionally clashed with religious rights in the past.
• The Shah Bano case is the most well-known of these.
• Shah Bano, then 62 years old, filed a lawsuit in 1985 asking her ex-husband for alimony.
• In this instance, the Supreme Court upheld her right to alimony, but the Islamic community fiercely disagreed with the decision, believing it to be in violation of the written laws of the Quran. The case raised questions about how much judicial interference with personal and religious legislation is permissible.
• According to Article 13 of the Constitution, personal law is not a type of law. A personal law's legality cannot be contested on the grounds of constitutionally protected fundamental rights.

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