Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday said that the practice of “triple talaq” will have to be judged on the yardstick of equality and the right to live with dignity.
“Personal laws have to be constitutionally compliant and the institution of ‘triple talaq’, therefore, will have to be judged on the yardstick of equality and the right to live with dignity. Needless to say that the same yardstick would be applicable to all other personal laws,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Noting that the issue of the constitutional validity of “triple talaq” is distinct from the uniform civil code, the finance minister, who has also been one of the leading lawyers in the Supreme Court, said that the academic debate can go on before the Law Commission.
“The constitutional framers had expressed a hope in the Directive Principles of State Policy that the state would endeavour to have a uniform civil law,” he said and added, “the question to be answered is that assuming that each community has its separate personal law, should not those personal laws be constitutionally compliant?”
Jaitley also accused previous governments of shying away from taking a categorical stand that personal laws must comply with fundamental rights.
“The present government has taken a clear position,” he said.
Jaitley said that on more occasions than one, the Supreme Court has inquired from the government its stand on the issue.
“The governments have repeatedly told both the court and the parliament that personal laws are ordinarily amended after detailed consultations with affected stakeholders,” he said.
Jaitley said there is a fundamental distinction between religious practices, rituals and civil rights.
“Religious functions associated with birth, adoption, succession, marriage, death, can all be conducted through rituals and customs as per existing religious practices. Should rights emanating from birth, adoption, succession, marriage, divorce, etc be guided by religion or by constitutional guarantees?”
“Can there be inequality or compromise with human dignity in any of these matters? Some people may hold a conservative, if not obsolete, view that personal laws need not be constitutionally compliant.”
He said that as communities have progressed, there is a greater realisation about gender equality.
Muslim women line up to sign forms to support the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) during a signature campaign in Ahmedabad yesterday.
