In Talaq-e-Hasan, husbands increasingly route divorce notices through lawyers, then deny pronouncing talaq in court to block women from remarrying or claiming maintenance.
Practice defeats the finality of divorce, leaves women in limbo, and raises doubts about the validity and ethics of advocate-issued notices under Islamic law.
Matter posted after four weeks; Union government and AIMPLB directed to file replies on the constitutional validity and regula
Supreme Court Questions ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ Practice And Lawyers’ Role
Bench flags potential misuse as husbands use advocates to issue notices, then disown them in court to prolong cases.
Summary
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 19, 2025) expressed serious concern over the extrajudicial divorce method of Talaq-e-Hasan, where a husband pronounces one talaq each month over three successive months, and highlighted a growing trend of husbands getting their lawyers to dispatch talaq notices to wives only to later deny authorship in court.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah remarked that this tactic allows men to “keep the sword hanging” over wives while evading legal accountability, effectively turning a religious practice into a tool for harassment. The court was hearing a plea by a woman from Rajasthan whose husband, through his advocate, sent a Talaq-e-Hasan notice but subsequently claimed in proceedings that no divorce had been pronounced.
The judges questioned whether such lawyer-drafted notices truly reflect the husband’s intent or are merely sent to create pressure, and asked why personal laws should permit practices that can be so easily abused. The Centre and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board have been asked to respond within four weeks.
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