The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will form a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear and decide on a batch of petitions relating to the practice of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims.

Taking on record three sets of issues framed by parties with regard to the cases, a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said the questions to be considered by the Constitution Bench would be decided on 30 March.

Referring to the legal issues framed by the Centre, the bench said “the issues are very important. These issues cannot be scuttled" as all of them relate to the constitutional issues and needed to be dealt with by a larger bench.

The bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana and D V Chandrachud, asked the parties concerned to file their respective written submissions, running not beyond 15 pages, by the next date of hearing.

When a woman lawyer referred to the fate of the apex court judgement in the famous Shah Bano case, the bench said "there are always two sides in a case. We have been deciding cases for the last 40 years. We have to go by the law and we would not go beyond the law." 

The bench also made it clear that it is willing to sit on Saturdays and Sundays to decide on the issue as it was very important.

The apex court had on 14 February termed `triple talaq` as an issue of human rights, and said it will not hear the petitions related to Uniform Civil Code along with it as it was a different matter altogether.

"It`s a matter of human rights, so we would deal with it properly," the court said.
The apex court said it would pass an order and dispose off the petitions on 11 May, regarding the validity of triple talaq case.
Several women have filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the triple talaq practice. 
The Central Government has also told the apex court that it is against gender injustice and is for equality between men and women under the Constitution.
One of the petitioners, Shayara, 38, moved the Supreme Court to challenge the triple talaq under Muslim personal law, under which a man simply has to utter `talaq` thrice to divorce his wife.
Shayara has also challenged in the apex court the concept of `nikah-halal`, under which a woman must consummate another marriage in order to go back to her first husband if she wants to. 

She also wants a law against polygamy within a Muslim marriage.

In December last year, the Allahabad High Court termed the Islamic practice of divorcing a woman by uttering the word "talaq" thrice as unconstitutional.
The court observed that the triple talaq practice sanctioned under Muslim Personal Law that governs marriage, property and divorce violates the rights of Muslim women.

"Triple talaq is unconstitutional, it violates the rights of Muslim women," ruled the High Court, adding that no personal law board is above the Constitution.
However, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has defended the practice, saying it is better to divorce a woman than kill her. The rights bestowed by religion cannot be questioned in a court of law, it said.