AIMPLB: Will accept triple talaq bill if flaws removed

Hyderabad: The model Nikahnama or Islamic marriage contract should be amended to include a pledge by the groom not to divorce his wife with a triple talaq, an influential Muslim body said.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesperson Maulana Syed Khaleel-ur-Rahman Sajjad Noamani said at a press conference on Thursday that the Lok Sabha bill proposing to criminalize triple talaq and the Babri Masjid/ Ram Janmabhoomi dispute will be discussed at a plenary meeting of the board in Hyderabad from 9-11 February.

The conference will begin with a working committee session on Friday evening where the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill of 2017 (known as the triple talaq bill) will be taken up for discussion.

“The bill is full of serious lacunae and flaws and if they are removed the board is willing to accept it. The lacunae violate the constitution and fundamental rights,” said Naomani. He added that the bill seeks to outlaw even those methods of talaq which have been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Last August, in a 3-2 majority verdict, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the practice of triple talaq, under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by uttering the word “talaq” three times. The contentious bill was passed after a string of amendments moved by various opposition members were rejected.

MPs from the opposition parties including the All India Majilis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen led by Asaduddin Owaisi had opposed the bill, calling it arbitrary in nature and a faulty proposal. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’.

On the issue of Babri Masjid/Ram Janmabhoomi, Naomani said that the AIMPLB’s working committee and general body will discuss the mosque’s title issue pending before the Supreme Court and its demolition case in a Lucknow court. “Based on the reports of the lawyers’ panel, the next course of action will be decided,” he told reporters.