A Muslim woman, Amina Shervani, has approached the apex court and sought to oppose the PIL filed for bringing uniformity in the personal laws which govern divorce, maintenance and alimony related issues.
The PIL had been originally filed by BJP leader and Supreme Court Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
The woman submitted that the provisions which govern Muslim marriages, divorce, alimony and related issues are comparatively beneficial for the women. The woman contended that the contractual nature of marriage helps the Muslim women safeguard their own interests from the uncertainties which ought to occur in marital life.
The woman also stated that Muslim personal law empowers them to impose conditions before and after the marriage, and this provides them an option to secure their interests as well as their marital life. Such conditions are proven to have provide sustenance to Muslim women during and after the dissolution of their marriage.
The plea also included various rights which Muslim women enjoy due to the presence of Muslim marriage agreements. Rights include Mehr, which acts as a substantial consideration for the marriage.
Further, the plea also stated that there is provision of mediation and speedy settlement of matrimonial disputes which in-turn protects the parties from engaging into “protracted adversarial litigation” which is accompanied with hardship and humiliation to women, especially.
Moreover, the woman added that under Muslim personal law, Muslim women can obtain divorce in five ways.
The woman went on to question the locus standi of petitioner and submitted that the petition aims at taking away the intrinsic rights of women, including the ones provided under Article 25 and 26 of Indian Constitution.
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