India’s top court: Instant divorce among Muslims unlawful

NEW DELHI, India — India’s Supreme Court strikes down the Muslim practice that allows men to instantly divorce their wives as unconstitutional.

The bench, comprising five senior judges of different faiths, deliberated for three months before issuing its order in response to petitions from seven Muslim women who had been divorced through the practice known as triple talaq.

Indian law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad says on NDTV that since the court deemed the practice unconstitutional there is no need for any further legislative action by the government.

The decision is widely lauded by women’s rights activists as a step toward granting Muslim women greater equality and justice.

More than 20 Muslim countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned the practice. But in India, triple talaq has continued with the protection of laws that allow Muslim, Christian and Hindu communities to follow religious law in matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

— AP

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