The Triple Talaq Ban: From Shayara Bano to the 2019 Law

Shayara Bano v. Union of India

• Triple talaq, or talaq-e-biddat, let a Muslim husband divorce his wife instantly.
• Shayara Bano was divorced this way in October 2015. She went to the Supreme Court.
• On 22 August 2017, a five-judge bench struck the practice down by a 3:2 majority.
• The bench: Chief Justice J. S. Khehar and Justices Kurian Joseph, R. F. Nariman, U. U. Lalit and S. Abdul Nazeer.

Ordinance, then Act

• The government issued an ordinance on 19 September 2018.
• The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 passed the Lok Sabha on 25 July and the Rajya Sabha on 30 July 2019.
• Instant triple talaq became a crime, with up to three years in jail and a fine.
• The sequence to remember: ruling (2017), ordinance (2018), Act (2019).

Same result, different paths

• Justices Nariman and Lalit held the practice “manifestly arbitrary” and so void under Article 14.
• Justice Kurian Joseph held it was not essential to Islam. So Article 25 did not protect it. He also said it went against the Quran.
• Chief Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer dissented. They wanted Parliament to make the law.

Other countries

• Egypt restricted instant talaq in 1929.
• Pakistan did so in 1961.
• So India followed other Muslim-majority countries, not the other way round.

What the Act provides

• The offence is cognizable only if the wife, or a blood or marriage relative, gives the information.
• The wife can have the offence compounded, with the Magistrate’s permission.
• Bail is given only after the Magistrate hears the wife.
• The wife may claim a subsistence allowance and custody of minor children.
• Source: PIB factsheet on the Act.

The criticism

• Critics say making a civil wrong a crime is unusual.
• Some fear misuse to harass husbands.
• Supporters say it protects Muslim women and does not target a community.
• Compare Shah Bano (1985). There, Parliament limited the Court’s ruling. In 2019, Parliament went further than the Court.

Where the challenge stands

• Groups such as Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema have challenged the 2019 Act.
• They say it is aimed at Muslim men and violates Article 14.
• The Centre defends it and calls instant triple talaq harmful to marriage.
• The Supreme Court heard the case on 29 January 2025 and asked the Centre for data on cases filed.
• The tracker shows no final ruling at its last update, in July 2025.
• Source: Supreme Court Observer.