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News of Jan
5, 2007
Shariat Courts Protected
under
Muslim Personal Law: Government
New
Delhi, Jan 5
The government Friday informed the Supreme Court that Muslims under
their personal law have a right to establish Shariat panchayats to
settle disputes between two people and fatwas issued by these courts
are not in conflict with or parallel to the Indian judicial system.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian stated this before a
bench of judges A.R. Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir hearing a petition
from advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan seeking a direction to refrain the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board from establishing a parallel
Muslim judicial system (Nizam-e-Qaza) in the country.
Since most of the other respondents had not filed their responses to
the petition, the bench adjourned the hearing by 12 weeks.
In his public interest petition, Madan submitted that a Muslim woman
Imrana was allegedly raped by her father-in-law and the village
panchayat passed a fatwa asking her to treat her father-in-law as
her husband.
The Darul-Uloom also declared that Imrana could not live with her
husband. This was endorsed by the AIMPLB. He sought a declaration
that the fatwas pronounced by various authorities were
unenforceable, to direct the central and state governments concerned
to take steps to disband the Dar-ul-Qazas forthwith.
In its reply, the central government said "freedom guaranteed by
Article 26 of the Constitution to every religious denomination or
every section thereof to establish and maintain institutions for
religious and charitable purposes and to manage its own affairs in
the matters of religion would include the freedom to establish Dar-ul-Qaza/Nizam-e-Qaza
(Shariat panchayats) to settle disputes between two persons
professing Islam, according to Shariat."
It said these courts were not a parallel judicial system.
"Further Dar-ul-Qaza/Nizam-e-Qaza do not prevent Muslims to report
matters to the judicial machinery set up under the law of the land.
Those who do not want to resort to Dar-ul-Qaza are at liberty and
fully entitled to resort to courts of law. There is no question of
compelling anyone not to report matters to the judicial machinery.
Dar-ul-Qaza and Nizam-e-Qaza are alternative dispute redressal
forums without any enforcement power."
Seeking dismissal of the petition, the government said fatwas issued
by the religious courts were only advisory in nature and did not
compel anyone to follow them.
IANS
News of Jan
5, 2007
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