The arguments on triple talaq entered the fifth day on Wednesday (May 17). Kapil Sabil who had argued vociferously in favour of Triple Talaq on Tuesday (May 16) continued his arguments. He said that when a court takes up a critical issue like Triple Talaq suo motu, a wrong impression is conveyed. It seems as if Muslim men get up every day in the morning and say Triple Talaq to their wives, he contented.

On being asked whether a modern nikahnama existed, or had been framed wherein conditions could be spelled out at the time of marriage, Sibal apprised the court that a modern nikahnama had already been issued and he was working on social reforms, vis-à-vis Triple Talaq.

Reading out a judgment that dwelt on the scope of Article 26, Sibal argued that every religion had the liberty to manage its own affairs when it comes to customs and rituals. He pleaded that the Muslim community had immense faith in the apex court, and it was the same faith that brought it to the portals of the court.

The counsel for Jamaat-e-Islami Hind referred to the Special Marriage Act of the Shariat. He said the Act is very liberal on marriage. But if the ground reality was starkly different, the onus lay on the community as well as the state to change things and highlight the progressive methods. People must know that there is an option to walk out of marriage outside the realm of personal law existed.

He further said that any decision thrust upon by a judge of a secular court may become difficult to digest, it would seem wrong. He noted that it was important what the community believed rather than a belief imposed by an outsider.

—India Legal Bureau