Kapil Sibal on behalf of All India Muslim Personal Law Board to supreme court today said that Talaq is not an issue. Issue is patriarchy. All personal laws, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian, all are discriminatory.
In Hindu law, a father can write a will that his property will not go to his daughter. But in Muslim personal law, it cannot happen. A Muslim man cannot write a will against his daughter.
The property will mandatorily go to daughter. Is Hindu law not discriminatory here. Will the Supreme Court strike down Hindu law? Why nobody is talking about it. What about hundreds of Hindu women making rounds in courts for years seeking divorce.
Sibal said in Constitutional scheme, personal laws are itself protected. That’s why the Constituent assembly separated personal laws from customs and practices. There are so many customs in Himachal Pradesh which are not in accordance with Hindu law. Similarly in North West frontier province, there are so many customs contrary to Muslim laws. But these customs are protected.
Sibal informed the court that triple talaq is a matter of faith being practiced by Muslims for the last 1,400 years and hence the question of constitutional morality and equity did not arise.
Appearing for All India Muslim Personal Law Board, AIMPLB, Sibal also equated triple talaq with the Hindu belief that Lord Rama was born at Ayodhya.
Arguing before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, Mr Sibal also referred to the fact that the source of triple talaq can be found in Hadith and that it came into being after the time of Prophet Muhammad.
Today is the fourth day of the hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging triple talaq, polygamy and ‘nikah halala’.
Sibal to continue tomorrow
