SHAH BANO TO SHAYARA BANO TRIPPLE TALAQ TO UCC:
1947 to 2023
The long journey by Muslim Woman
SECULAR INDIA OF NEHRU-GANDHI
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
CASE:--A
Her name is Shah Bano, at a very young age, she got married
to a young and successful lawyer in Indore. Things were smooth sailing and they
together had 5 kids from the marriage. After 14 years of marrying Bano, her
husband decided to marry again and took a younger women to be his second wife.
After a few years of living with both wives, the Husband one day driven Bano and her 5 children out of the house. Bano was 62 then
and had nowhere to go. She was a woman without roof, food, earning, and liability of 5 children.
The rich husband had promised to pay Rs. 200 per
month to help support Bano, but the money didn’t come as well.
Bano filed a petition in the local courts of Indore against
her husband. The enraged husband as a result, gave her a divorce - cutting all
his liabilities. The judge though ordered a sum of Rs. 25 to be paid
to Bano every month for her sustenance.
Unhappy with the verdict, Bano applied to the Madhya Pradesh
High Court, requesting the monthly payment to increase from Rs. 25 to Rs
179.20 every month. Her husband on the other hand filed a petition in
the Supreme Court, stating that she was not his responsibility anymore.
Judgment of the court:-
The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court gave its decision
in favour of Shah Bano and others. It declared the practice of Triple Talaq
unconstitutional by a 3:2 majority and directed the legislature to take
measures against it in order to stop the abuse against women. The Supreme court judges passed a judgement in
the light of the religious texts and held the husband accountable for his wife.
They ordered him to pay. The Supreme Court in Shah Bano case concluded
that a Muslim husband's obligation to provide maintenance to a divorced
wife who was unable to support herself extended beyond the iddat period, as
specified in the Muslim Personal Law.
7 years had passed at this point, through INDIAN LEGAL PROCESS, and Bano was 69 years
old.
There were wide spread opinions both for and against the
judgement. There were elections round the corner and the ruling party
looked at this case as an opportunity. Vote Bank Opportunity.
The Rajiv Gandhi government brought Muslim Women (Protection of
Right on Divorce) Act to nullify the impact of the Shah Bano ruling.
With PM Modi pushing for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) recently at a
rally in Madhya Pradesh, the spotlight is back on the 1985 Shah Bano Case.
A shameful political
Expediency. A Gandhi Scion—Rajeev Gandhi,
Rahul’s Father was P.M.
Shah Bano died in 1992. Judgement on Her case is still regarded as a
milestone. She never got
paid by her former husband.
CASE:-- B
Shayara Bano, a Muslim
girl, was married to Rizwan Ahmed for 15 years. But in 2016, he divorced her by
way of triple talaq without stating any reason.
Shayara Bano petitioned the Supreme Court for a
declaration that three practices, talaq-e-biddat, polygamy, and nikah-halala,
are unconstitutional because they violate the basic rights of women established
in Articles 14, 15, 21, and 25 of the Indian Constitution.
The debate has involved the Government of India and the
Supreme Court of India, and is connected to the debate about a uniform civil
code (Article 44) in India. On 22 August 2017, the Indian Supreme Court deemed
instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) unconstitutional.
The Clause 3 of judgment also states that, “whoever pronounces Triple
Talaq upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to three years and fine”.
As a result, the court established a legal prohibition
on Triple Talaq, with the enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights
on Marriage) Act in 2019.
UCC:-
Status as on 26/12/2023.
The Narendra
Modi government at the Centre is considering the introduction of a
bill on implementing a Uniform
Civil Code (UCC during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
Highly -placed sources have revealed to India Today that the bill may be
referred to the parliamentary standing committee, which will seek input from
various stakeholders on the matter of a uniform civil code.
This development follows a notice issued by the Law
Commission of India, wherein it sought the opinions of stakeholders on this
issue. The parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances,
law, and justice recently scheduled a meeting to discuss the UCC and announced
its intention to gather the views of stakeholders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has argued in favour of uniform
laws for all citizens, highlighting the importance of equality as
enshrined in the Constitution.
It is pertinent to note that—Nehru, Ambedkar, Patel—all three
opined in favour of UCC, but didn’t show the courage to put it as a part of
constitution, when it was framed.
REFERENCES:-
1.0 A. G. Noorani, "P.M. and Shah Bano's Case I &
II,"
2.0 https://lawbhoomi.com/shayara-bano-vs-union-of-india-2017-9-scc-1/#:~:text=Conclusion-,Introduction,a%20safeguard%20against%20social%20evils.
3.0 BJP’s web site.
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