In a relief to Muslim women across the country, the Delhi High Court has declared that talaq (Islamic mode of divorce) given by their husbands in “extreme anger” is invalid.“If a talaq is pronounced in extreme anger where the husband has lost control of himself, it would not be effective or valid,” Justice Badar Durrez Ahamed ruled.Pointing out that triple talaq or talaq-e-bidaat (divorce in one go by merely repeating the term ‘talaq’ thrice) as “sinful but valid”, the court said such a mode for dissolution of Islamic marriages had caused “extreme misery to divorced women and even to men, who are left with no chance to undo the wrong or any scope to bring about a reconciliation”.While issuing an injunction on courts that the Muslim Personal Law would supercede any “contrary customs or usage” followed in dissolution of marriages, Justice Ahamed held that from henceforth triple talaq would only mean a single pronouncement of “talaq”, revocable by the husband or wife if they decide to reconcile.Presently, an effective divorce can be procured instantly in one sitting if either three pronouncements of the word ‘talaq’ are clubbed in a single sentence or in three sentences of “I divorce you”.The Bench justified its decision to hold the pronouncement of triple talaq as “revocable” on the ground that a premium be given for reconciliation between the spouses.This is the first time that a court has made “attempts for reconciliation” mandatory after pronouncement of talaq. Till now, efforts for reconciliation, if any, were to precede the divorce pronouncement.Differing with the present law that expiry of the iddat period (three menstrual courses or three lunar months after the divorce) would act as the deadline for estranged spouses to save their marriages, the court held that couples could still settle their differences by contracting a fresh marriage even after the period was over.The court further stressed that mere pronouncement of talaq did not ipso facto (on the face of the fact) amount to dissolution of marital tie between the spouses.“The wife upon whom talaq has been pronounced has the right of residence as well as of maintenance and she cannot be disturbed, she continues to be the wife of the man in the iddat period during which the marital tie remains in suspense,” the Bench formalised the status of the divorced woman.The court was hearing a bail application of a young man who, in the absence of his wife, declared talaq in anger after a marital dispute, but later resumed conjugal relations with her, “forgetting” the fact that he had divorced her.Their marriage soured again and the wife, Aisha Anjum, left the matrimonial home along with their minor daughter. It was only then she knew that her husband had declared talaq. Following which she lodged a complaint of rape against Masroor with the Preet Vihar Police Station.In her FIR, she alleged that Masroor had played a fraud by subjecting her to sexual intercourse in the guise of being her “lawful husband”.The court quashed the FIR, saying Masroor’s pronouncement of talaq was after all in “extreme anger” and the offence of rape was not made out.Reacting to the order, spokesperson and Assistant General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Abdur Rahim Qureshi expressed his reservation to The Indian Express: “Triple talaq is considered valid by all four Sunni schools in India. I differ with the High Court’s order. Triple talaq pronounced in one sitting is valid and immediately enforceable. It is not revocable as held by the court.”However, he agreed with Justice Ahamed’s ruling that talaq declared in a “frenzy” would remain invalid.There is “growing dissent” in the Muslim community and even within the AIMPLB about the “correct interpretation” of triple talaq. Syed Shahabuddin, senior member of the Board and editor of Muslim India, says the “battle is between those who go by the practice of talaq in one sitting and others who believe that such a mode of talaq is not according to the Quran”.“The High Court order reflects the correct interpretation of triple talaq — an issue which is the subject of debate in the AIMPLB. Every pronouncement of talaq should be interspersed with proper intervals for affording couples an opportunity to reconcile. I support the order of the Delhi High Court in principle wholeheartedly,” Shahabuddin said.
