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Talaq-e-hasan is a form of divorce among Muslims through which a man can dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the word talaq once every month over a period of three months. File | Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna
Asking the parties to submit notes with regard to types of Talaq which can be granted under Islamic practices, the Bench said it is not the question of striking down a prevalent religious practice but an issue which needs to be regulated as per the constitutional ethos.
The top court was hearing nine petitions, including the one filed by Ghaziabad resident Benazeer Heena, claiming to be aggrieved by the practice.
In 2017, the top court declared instant Triple Talaq, also a form of divorce prevalent among the Muslim community, as unconstitutional after finding it to be arbitrary and violative of the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
What is Talaq-e-Hasan?
Talaq-e-Hasan is a form of divorce among Muslims through which a man can dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the word talaq once every month over a period of three months.
Under Talaq-e-Hasan, a divorce gets formalised after the third utterance of the word talaq in the third month if cohabitation has not resumed during this period. However, if cohabitation resumes after the first or second utterance of talaq, the parties are assumed to have reconciled.
Benazeer Heena vs Union of India and Others
The petition filed by Benazeer Heena, a Ghaziabad-based woman, through Advocate-on-Record Ashwani Kumar Dubey, seeks to make the prescribed Islamic way of divorce Talaq-e-Hasan unconstitutional as it is violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution.
On November 19, 2025, in Benazeer Heena vs Union of India and Ors., a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N. Kotiswar Singh, expressed strong reservations about Talaq-e-Hasan.
In Heena’s case, the husband had communicated the Talaq-e-Hasan through his advocate without signing the document himself. The Court was visibly disturbed by the fact that advocates were granting divorces and remarked: “Tomorrow, what will happen if a client disowns the advocate?… Should a civilized society allow this kind of practice?”
How is Talaq-e-Hasan different from instant triple talaq?
In instant triple talaq (Talaq-e-Biddat), which is illegal in India, a man pronounces talaq three times in one go. It has no scope for reconciliation between the feuding couple and often ends a marriage instantly. It is, as the judges held, not mentioned anywhere in the Quran, which prescribes a code of divorce largely through Surah Baqarah, verses 226 to 237, and the opening six verses of Surah Talaq. Incidentally, instant triple talaq in this manner has been banned in many Muslim countries, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Malaysia.
Unlike instant triple talaq, Talaq-e-Hasan is pronounced with a gap of at least one month or one menstrual cycle. Only a single revocable divorce takes place through the first pronouncement of Talaq-e-Hasan. The husband and wife are supposed to live together after this pronouncement and have the option of rapprochement. If the couple is not able to mend fences in the intervening period and the husband does not annul divorce through word or by establishing intimacy, the talaq stays valid. At the end of this month, the husband has to pronounce divorce for the second time. Likewise for the third time. After the second pronouncement too, the divorce is revocable, and the couple may resume their conjugal relationship anytime they so desire. If, however, the third pronouncement is made after at least one menstrual cycle, then irrevocable divorce takes place. Significantly, no divorce can be administered when the woman is undergoing her menstrual cycle. Even in the case of pregnancy, no divorce takes place. And if such a pronouncement is made, it remains in abeyance till the end of pregnancy.
Published – January 21, 2026 11:42 am IST
