The Supreme Court will commence hearing from today on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of ‘triple talaq’, ‘nikah halala‘ and polygamy practices among Muslims.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J Khehar will commence hearing on seven petitions, including five separate writ petitions filed by Muslim women challenging the practice of triple talaq prevalent in the community and terming it unconstitutional.
Significantly, the bench comprises 5 judges of 5 different religion. Their names are:
- Kurian Joseph, a Christian
- R F Nariman, a Parsi
- U U Lalit, a Hindu
- Abdul Nazeer, a Muslim
- Justice J Khehar, a Sikh
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi will assist the bench which will also examine to what extent the court can interfere in the Muslim personal laws if they are found to be violative of the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution.
The choice of judges is evoking interest among social media:
SC bench on #TripleTalaq has judges from 5 diff religions.
Are they there for #TripleTalaq or to highlight best practices from all religions— Varun Mahajan (@varunmahajan82) May 11, 2017
(With inputs from PTI)
(Feature image source: Reuters)