SC says Talaq-e-Hasan not akin to triple talaq: What is Talaq-e-Hasan? What is Khula?

The Supreme Court on Thursday said the practice of divorce through Talaq-e-Hasan is not similar to outlawed triple talaq. It added that women also have the option to end the marriage through a permitted Islamic practice called Khula. Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said if husband and wife cannot live together, the court can also grant the divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage under Article 142 of the Constitution. The court was hearing a plea demanding to declare all forms of "unilateral extra-judicial talaq as void and unconstitutional".

The bench said, "This is not triple talaq in that sense. Marriage being contractual in nature, you also have an option of khula. If two people cannot live together, we are also granting divorce on grounds of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Are you open to divorce by mutual consent if 'Mehar' (gift given in cash or kind by the groom to the bride) is taken care of...Prima facie, I don't agree with petitioners. I don't want this to become an agenda for any other reason," the bench observed.

The petition was filed by a Ghaziabad resident named Heena who said she was a victim of Talaq-E-Hasan. She wanted the Centre to frame guidelines for divorce in Islam in India.

What is Talaq-e-Hasan? Whay is Khula?

Under Talaq-e-Hasan, any Muslim man can give any woman the divorce in three successive installments -- once every three months. So if a person says Talaq to his wife in March and doesn't repeat it in April, their marriage would remain intact. However, if the same person said Talaq in March, April and May, the act would be tantamount to divorce. Under this system, divorce is formalized after the third utterance, In between these three months, if they cohabit, the divorce cannot be formalized. However, after the third utterance, the marriage is deemed irrevocably ended.

Under Khula, a Muslim woman has the right to seek divorce from her husband. She can first seek divorce from her husband. If he doesn't agree, she can appear before the Darul Qada committee. The Qazi can award divorce after hearing both the parties.  

With inputs from PTI