Triple talaq ban: CJI reminds government of obligation to bring in Uniform Civil Code

NEW DELHI: Reminding the government of its constitutional obligation to bring in a Uniform Civil Code, outgoing CJI JS Khehar refused to ban the practice of instant triple talaq through a judicial order.

Instead the CJI, writing for himself and Justice Abdul Nazeer, suggested that the government should bring in a law to ban instant triple talaq. “Abhorrent religious practices in the past such as sati, devadasi and polygamy, were all banned by way of legislative enactments,” the CJI said on Tuesday.




“Interference in matters of personal law is clearly beyond judicial examination. The judiciary must , therefore, always exercise absolute restraint, no matter how compelling and attractive the opportunity to do societal good may seem,” the Chief Justice of India said.



Referring to the government demand that the court step in to ban instant triple talaq, the CJI said: “The Constitution requires the state to provide for a Uniform Civil Code, to remedy and assuage the maladies expressed in the submissions advanced by the attorney general.”



Justifying the hands-off approach, the CJI said: “Religion is a matter of faith, and not of logic. It is not open to a court to accept an egalitarian approach, over a practice which constitutes an integral part of religion.”