Cricketer Mohammed Shami’s Wife Approaches Supreme Court For Uniform Laws On Divorce, Notice Issued
She seeks removal of all forms of unilateral talaq!
Considering the diversity in India, Indian laws have guidelines that cover different religions in terms of marriage and divorce. Apart from the Special Marriage Act, there are Hindu Marriage Act, Muslim Marriage Act and Christian Marriage Act among others. Recently, Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan has approached the Supreme Court and filed a plea seeking “gender and religion-neutral” laws for divorces across the country.
As per the plea filed in the Supreme Court, cricketer Mohammad Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan has requested the Top Court to frame guidelines for gender-neutral and religion-neutral uniform laws including uniform grounds as well as the procedure for divorce for all. The petitioner has also requested that the sections of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act that validate “unilateral divorces” be declared “unconstitutional”. Hasin Jahan has claimed that she is aggrieved by the Talaq-e-Hasan after she received a divorce notice under the same from her husband on July 23, 2022.
The Supreme Court has issued a notice on a plea filed by Hasin Jahan, the estranged wife of Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami, seeking fresh guidelines for uniform divorce laws in the country based on "gender and religion neutral" grounds. A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud…
— Law Today (@LawTodayLive) May 16, 2023
Cricketer Mohammed Shammi’s wife has sought the removal of Talaq-e-Hasan as well as all other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq that give Muslim men the power to divorce their wives at their own whims, without the women having any say in the matter. Further, Hasin Jahan’s plea states that these personal laws do not give the women any right to be heard in any manner or any right to reconciliation which is a violation of the Fundamental Rights of women guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution that protects them from being discriminated against on the basis of gender, religion and the right to life. As per the petition, the only exception to the divorce law is Talaq-e-Biddat. Hasin Jahan has said that she has been abused due to the draconian practices that continue to be followed under the Shariat.
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In response, a bench of the Supreme Court headed by CJI DY Chandrachud has combined cricketer Mohammed Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan’s plea with similar petitions. A notice has also been issued to the respondents on Monday.
For the unversed, Talaq-e-Hasan also known as Talaq-Ul-Hasan is a form of divorce where talaq is pronounced once a month by the husband for 3 months. If cohabitation between the couple does not resume during this time, the divorce is considered to be formalised after the husband pronounces talaq in the third month.
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