Fundamental rights versus personal law
Q. Which of the following is/ are true regarding Personal law?
1) Provisions of personal laws can be challenged by the reason of fundamental rights.
2) Fundamental rights are enforceable by the Supreme Court only, if they are in contradiction to personal laws.- Published on 08 Feb 16a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2
- PIL instituted suo motu by the Supreme Court attempts to deal with various issues of rights, including gender bias against Muslim women.
- In its plea, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has contended that the apex court cannot examine the constitutional validity of the practices of marriage, divorce and maintenance in Muslim personal law on the ground that provisions of personal laws cannot be challenged by the reason of fundamental rights.
- They argued - Personal laws do not derive their validity on the ground that they have been passed or made by a legislature or other competent authority. The foundational sources of personal law are their respective scriptural texts. The Mohammedan Law is founded essentially on the Holy Koran and it cannot fall within the purview of the expression ‘laws in force’ as mentioned in Article 13 of the Constitution of India, and hence its validity cannot be tested on a challenge based on Part III of the Constitution.
- In 2015, a two-judge bench had ordered registration of a PIL and requested the Chief Justice to set up a Special Bench to deal with issues relating to the challenge to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act.
