Nikahnama barring spot talaq to get AIMPLB push

NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court on Monday that it will request qazis to advise brides and bridegrooms to agree to a nikahnama that bars the man from uttering triple talaq in one go to end the marriage.
The AIMPLB’s affidavit was filed by advocate Ejaz Maqbool in response to a query from a five-judge bench headed by CJI J S Khehar on Thursday whether the board was ready to advise brides to exercise their right to seek exclusion of triple talaq for her would-be husband if marital ties turned sour later.
The board said, “The person performing the nikah will advise the groom that in such cases, the man shall not pronounce triple talaq in one sitting since it is an undesirable practice in Shariat.”
However, it did not refer to its earlier stand before the SC that the wife could also, if delegated by the husband, resort to talaq to end a bad marriage.
In its fresh affidavit, the board said, “In case the wife is not willing to live with her husband, then she can terminate this relationship by ‘khulaa’.” The board also said the qazi will advise both the bride and bridegroom “to incorporate a condition in the nikahnama to exclude resorting to pronouncement of triple talaq by the man in one sitting”. “The board will issue this advisory through its website, publications and social media platforms to those performing nikahs,” AIMPLB said.
The affidavit was the latest in a series of concessions by the AIMPLB, a body essentially representing the clergy, as it tries to stave off the threat of the SC outlawing the controversial practice. In the process, it has disengaged itself from the position that triple talaq is integral to Islam. Going by the board’s latest stand, triple talaq does not qualify to be an ‘essential practice’. The board also brought to the court’s notice an April 16 resolution passed by it, which decided that “those who resort to triple talaq in one go leading to creation of problems thereafter should be boycotted by Muslims”. The AIMPLB said “this social boycott will be much helpful in decreasing the incidences”.