The Jamiat Ulama-i Hind on Wednesday said that talaq-e-biddat, better known as instant triple talaq, will continue to be practiced and recognised in India. In defiance of the Supreme Court’s order that struck down the divorce practice on Tuesday, Jamiat General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani held that the court’s ruling interfered with the fundamental right to religion, The Indian Express reported.
“If you want to punish the person for it, you can do so, but the divorce will be recognised,” Madani said at a press conference. “Not only do we not agree with the judgment, we think this is a direct assault on the fundamental right to practice religion.”
The Jamiat Ulama-i Hind was one of the respondents to a petition called the Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality. The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of this plea before pronouncing its verdict.
In a statement, the Islamic body had also appealed to Muslims to not resort to triple talaq except in “unavoidable circumstances”. “The Jamiat Ulama-i Hind seeks to make it clear that we will never compromise on religious rights guaranteed in the Constitution as fundamental ones,” it said. “Any attempt to trample upon that should not be condoned. We will continue to fight against such an attempt at every level.”
In a split verdict on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had scrapped triple talaq, declaring it unconstitutional. The five-member bench was divided 3-2 on the matter, with the majority verdict striking the practice down. The judgment said the practice violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which provides for equality before the law.
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