Living By Religion, Playing by Law: Early Glimpses of The Ban On Triple Talaq

The Supreme Court of India declared triple talaq, a type of Islamic divorce, as unconstitutional in 2017. Following that, in 2019, the Parliament enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalised the pronouncement of triple talaq. Triple talaq as a form of divorce continues to hold legitimacy under the uncodified religious law that Muslims in India abide by in their everyday life. What, then, is the impact of the criminalisation of this practice at the level of the community? What does intervention by the criminal justice system mean for justice in inter-personal disputes that are primarily of civil nature? The paper explores how disputes involving the question of triple talaq unfold in police stations, which are the first State institutions that take cognisance of the offence, to examine the value of criminal deterrence for offences related to domestic disputes.