Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939

The Supreme Court dismissed three public‑interest writ petitions that sought to declare various provisions of Muslim, Hindu and Christian personal laws unconstitutional. The petitioners argued that polygamy, unilateral talaq, and discriminatory inheritance rules violated Articles 13, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The …

The Supreme Court, by a 3:2 majority, set aside the practice of 'talaq-e-biddat' (triple talaq) as unconstitutional. The case arose from a petition by Shayara Bano, who was divorced by her husband through triple talaq. The majority held that triple talaq is manifestly arbitrary and violates Article 14 of the Constituti…

Zohra Khatoon, the legally married wife of Mohd. Ibrahim, filed a petition under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 for maintenance for herself and her minor child after the husband neglected her. The trial magistrate granted Rs.100 per month to both, but the High Court quashed the maintenance for the wif…

The petitioners, Hindu wives, challenged the validity of their husbands' second marriages after the husbands converted to Islam without dissolving the first Hindu marriage. The Court examined whether conversion to Islam permits a Hindu husband to contract a second marriage, whether such a marriage is valid under the Hi…

The wife, a Christian from the Khasi tribe and an Indian Foreign Service officer, married a Sikh husband under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872. She filed a petition under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 seeking a declaration of nullity or judicial separation on the ground of her husband's impotence. The Delhi High…