Triple talaq verdict: FM Arun Jaitley deems it a 'great victory'

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on Tuesday, upheld the Supreme Court's decision of banning the practice of Triple Talaq in Islam by calling it a "great victory" for the progressive aims of the country.

Jaitley observed, "the practice (triple talaq) heaped injustice and oppression on the female spouse and virtually left her remediless."

In the light of the current situation of Indian women, Jaitley praised the Supreme Court for stepping in at the right time, adding that the decision was a "great victory for all those who've always believed that personal laws of India must also be progressive and must be compliant with the constitutional guarantees."

"The majority view of the Supreme Court is absolutely clear, that this instant pronouncement is not fundamental to the religion itself. It's not an essential aspect of the religion and therefore it's discriminatory, it compromises the dignity of the women itself," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court struck down the practice of Triple Talaq as 'unconstitutional' by a 3:2 majority.

The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) J.S. Khehar, deciding on the verdict, was seemingly split on the legality of the practice.

CJI Khehar, while pronouncing the judgement, however, upheld the practice and said, "Talaq-e-biddat is not violative of articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution."

"Even the minority view which upheld the practice certainly was conscious of the fact that there was a need for a reform and that is why by upholding the practice itself, they injuncted it," said the Finance Minister.

The decision came soon after the apex court resumed the hearing on the matter on Tuesday morning.