A woman, who had moved the Supreme Court seeking guidelines for uniform and neutral grounds of divorce for all citizens, received the third and final notice of Talaq from her husband under ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’.
Petitioner Benazeer Heena had contended in her petition, filed in May, 2022, that her husband has given the first notice of Talaq through a Lawyer’s notice.
Senior Advocate Pinky Anand mentioned the petition before the Apex Court on May 25 before the Bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Bela M. Trivedi, which told her to mention it in the following week.
Accordingly, the matter was presented before the Bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi on May 30. The Apex Court again declined the matter and told the petitioner to file an application before the Registrar.
The case was then mentioned before the Bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Vikram Nath by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay on June 16.
In this petition, filed by Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, Benazeer sought declaration of Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 as void and unconstitutional, as it validated the practice of “Talaq-E-Hasan and other forms of unilateral extra-judicial talaq”. The petition also challenged the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939.
The Court then agreed to list the matter. As per the Supreme Court website, Benazeer’s petition has been listed for July 11.
On June 20, the journalist received her final notice of Talaq through Lawyer’s notice on email. As per the petitioner, the notice levelled several allegations against her. It said Benazeer had revealed to her husband that her family members, including her brothers, were actively involved in promoting ‘Love Jihad’ by alluring Hindu girls into marriage for the purpose of converting them to Islam.
The notice further stated that a lump sum maintenance will be provided to her during the Iddat period. The petitioner said following the third notice, she received Rs 17,000 through UPI, including Rs 15,000 for her three-month Iddat period and Rs 2,000 for her nine-month-old son.
The petitioner said that she has refused to accept talaq, calling it a unilateral and illegal divorce.