Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Monday told the Supreme Court that the government will introduce a law if the top court bans the practice of triple talaq. “If the Supreme Court completely strikes down triple talaq, we will bring in a law to regulate marriage and divorce it the Muslim community,” Rohatgi, who is representing the Centre, told the five-judge Constitution bench that is hearing pleas against the patriarchal divorce practice.
During the hearing, the bench reiterated its stand that there is no time for it to also take up polygamy and nikah halala for review at the moment, but said these matters will be open for adjudication in the future, reported PTI. “It may not be possible to deal with all the three issues in the limited time we have,” the judges said. “We will keep them pending for future.”
Rohatgi had pointed out that the two-judge SC bench, which had referred the triple talaq case to the Constitution bench, had also included polygamy and nikah halala in its order. “All three issues are before this court by virtue of the reference order of the two-judge bench,” the attorney general argued, urging the bench to assure those affected by the practices that it will take up the other two matters in the future.
On May 11, when the court began to hear seven petitions challenging the controversial Islamic practice of oral divorce, it had clarified that it will not hear pleas challenging polygamy.
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