As on yesterday the CJI mentioned that Triple Talaq Is Mentioned Nowhere In Quran. Here are few critical issues being debated.
Personal laws, however inequitable, are considered sacrosanct and cannot be challenged for being in conflict with the Constitution of India without touching a raw nerve. In the absence of steadfast judicial interpretation in various cases where personal laws were disputed, the high-profile triple talaq issue acquires much interest and will give rise to numerous speculations before the specially constituted bench pens its verdict.
The contention whether triple talaq is an inherent part of Islam or not will be central to the ruling. However, amidst all the searing exchange of legal prowess, one hopes the women of the Muslim community, scarred by indignity and hopelessness, have something to celebrate at the end of it all.
The Supreme Court as on today concluded its landmark hearing on triple talaq, reserving its order. A multi-faith, all-male, five-judge bench of the Supreme Court has been hearing blistering arguments in a six-day proceeding that started on 11 May to establish the constitutional validity of triple talaq.
On the final day of the proceedings today, Chief Justice of India (CJI) J S Khehar picked up the Quran and said unequivocally, that the practice is “mentioned nowhere in the book”, and queried how the Muslim community could claim it was fundamental to the religion when they themselves admitted it was ‘sinful’ and ‘worst form of divorce’.
Somebody gave this book to us… it says Talaq-e-biddat is a deviation from the right path. And now this is read and reread during every Friday afternoon prayers. So during every prayer, you say triple talaq is bad, sinful. CJI J S Khehar
Key Contentions
1. The Supreme Court said that the triple talaq is legal, but it is the worst and not desirable form for dissolution of marriages among Muslims. The court also queried how such a “sinful practice” can be taken as ordained by god and become a law.
2. “If the SC completely strikes down triple talaq, we will bring in a law. We will not leave the people high and dry,” said Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi.
3. Senior lawyer Salman Khurshid said that Islam considered instant triple talaq “sinful but valid in law”.
4. Sibal said challenging the constitutional validity of triple talaq, or instant oral divorce, could lead to a backlash in the Muslim community, which might see its rights as being infringed upon and therefore resort to supporting practices like polygamy and oral divorce.
“It is a 1,400 year old practice… who are we to say it is unislamic?”
5. Senior lawyer Indira Jaising said: “For deciding constitutionality, there is no difference between codified and uncodified law.”
6. The Centre, which wants oral, instant divorce declared unconstitutional, has said “triple talaq isn’t a basic and integral part of Islam.
Why is the SC hearing this matter?
The hearing is rooted in a 16 October 2015 order of the apex court by which it had directed the separate listing of a public interest litigation addressing the question of rights of Muslim women vis-a-vis these three customs. The hearing holds importance as the Allahabad High Court in its verdict pronounced in the last week of April, had held the practice of triple talaq as unilateral and bad in law.
In November last year, the Mumbai-based Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA – Indian Muslim Women’s Movement) released a report chronicling nearly 100 cases of triple talaq.
The Supreme Court had on 30 March this year said that the Muslim practices of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy are issues that are “very important” and involve “sentiments” and a constitution bench would hear the petitions from 11 May.
The lead petition in the current case is titled “Quest for Equality vs. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind”. Tagged with the case are six petitions by Khuran Sunnath Society, Shayara Bano, Aafreen Rehman, Gulshan Parveen, Ishrat Jahan and Atiya Sabri.
What are the issues before the SC bench?
Does personal law come under the ambit of Constitution of India? Four questions Supreme Court will address:
1. Whether the impugned practice of triple talaq is protected under Article 25(1) of the Constitution of India?
2. Whether Article 25(1) is subject to part III of the Constitution and in particular Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India?
3. Whether personal law is law under Article 13 of the Constitution?
4. Whether the impugned practices of talaq-e-biddat, Nikaah halala and polygamy are compatible with India’s obligations under International treaties and covenants to which India is a signatory?
5. Whether constitutional morality outweighs religious morality ?
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In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)