This week could be a turning point for gender justice and civil rights in India, with the Supreme Court expected to decide on the controversial Muslim divorce practice of triple talaq and if privacy is a fundamental right.
Reserving judgments, Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, who presided over hearings in both the cases, had said the verdicts would be pronounced soon.
The CJI retires on August 27, which leaves him only five days to come out with the verdict in the cases that have generated a lot of interest and political heat.
In the Shayara Bano case, the court will decide if the practice of triple talaq discriminated against Muslim women.
Bano, a resident of Uttarakhand, turned to the court in 2015 after her husband ended their 15-year marriage by sending a letter with the word talaq written thrice.
Subsequently, several Muslim women and organisations petitioned the court to scrap the custom.
The government is in favour of scrapping triple talaq, saying it violates the right to equality and is biased against women.
The Muslim personal law board has opposed “judicial interference” in matters of Muslim faith.
The decision in the privacy case will have a bearing on Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric unique identity number, which the government is pushing for to plug leaks in various welfare schemes.