Facts of the case

The petitioner was married to the respondent in 1948, in accordance with the Muslim personal law, and subsequently had four sons. The wife filed an application in the court, under Sec. 125 of the CrPC, claiming that her husband had deserted her and that there was cruelty by the husband. The family court denied her maintenance, on the grounds that she had already been divorced. However, a sum of Rs. 150/- was granted as maintenance for one son, till he attained majority.

Held

The petitioner denied having been divorced. One of the major points of conflict, was that ‘Is a divorce valid if it is not directly communicated to the wife( in this case the husband said to have dissolved marriage by means of triple Talaq in presence of neighbours) and the said divorce communicated to the appellant become effective from the date of filing the written statement by the husband in the proceeding?’

To this, the Supreme Court was of the view that the mere plea of a Talaq, would not validate the same. Ther Quranic procedures of obtaining a Talaq need to be fulfilled, i.e., Talaq has to be pronounced in the Quranic injunction.

The following case had several reactions, the most popular one being that the concept of triple Talaq was both demeaning as well as cruel to Muslim women. There were several other contentions, however, the idea that triple Talaq was immoral stuck to the minds of people.