Mumbai: A 32-year-old Muslim woman who has been divorced but wants to get married to her former husband again has approached the Bombay High Court seeking direction for the Union government to declare the practice of Nikah Halala unconstitutional. Nikah Halala is a practice followed by some Muslim sects where a female divorcee who wants to marry her former husband, is supposed to marry another man first, consummate the marriage, then get a divorce from the second husband in order to remarry her previous husband.
The petitioner and her 35-year-old husband got married in November 2009. It was her husband’s second marriage. Her husband rides an autorickshaw. She alleged that her husband started misbehaving within two months of their marriage. He allegedly tortured her. She told the court that her husband has now married the third time, and is ready to marry her again only by way of Nikah Halala. She said, “It violated her constitutional rights to a life of dignity unmarred by gender discrimination.” Currently, she stays at Nalasopara and her husband lives in Bandra.
She alleged that her husband was misusing the Shariah laws to avoid getting married to her again. The petitioner challenged the triple talaq given to her by her husband and asked the court to quash it.
She told the HC that her and her husband’s identity should be kept secret and she be provided with security in case some zealots try to attack her.
Criminal case against husband
She mentioned in her petition that “the court should direct the Union of India to declare section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, under which one practices Talaq-e-Bidat (triple talaq), Nikah Halala, and polygamy as illegal and unconstitutional as it violates right given under Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India”.
“We have filed a criminal complaint against the husband at Nalasopara, where the woman currently lives, for forgery as the divorce papers sent by her husband bears thumb impression which are not hers,” petitioner’s lawyer Nitin Satpute said.
