LANDMARK CASE

Shayara Bano v. Union of India

(2017) 9 SCC 1 · Supreme Court of India · Family law

At a glance

Citation: (2017) 9 SCC 1
Court: Supreme Court of India
Area of law: Family law
In one line: By a 3 to 2 majority, instant triple talaq was set aside. The opinions differed on reasoning, including manifest arbitrariness under Article 14.

1 Facts

Shayara Bano challenged instant triple talaq (talaq e biddat), by which her husband divorced her.

2 Issue

Is the practice of instant triple talaq valid?

3 What the court decided

By a 3 to 2 majority, instant triple talaq was set aside. The opinions differed on reasoning, including manifest arbitrariness under Article 14.

4 Why it matters

It led to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 and developed the manifest arbitrariness test.

5 Think about it

Read the three majority opinions. Do they reach the same result for the same reason?

6 Analyse it yourself

Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.

7 More cases on Family law

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Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) 8 SCC 746
Badshah v. Urmila Badshah Godse (2014) 1 SCC 188
Bai Tahira v. Ali Hussain Fidaalli Chothia (1979) 2 SCC 316
Chanmuniya v. Virendra Kumar Singh Kushwaha (2011) 1 SCC 141
D. Velusamy v. D. Patchaiammal (2010) 10 SCC 469

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