The Kerala Government is all set to vouch for the legal and Constitutional validity of the Sharia law. Reportedly, the Government has stated that Islamic law is the “real expression of the Prophet”. Furthermore, as per the Kerala Government, Sharia Law upholds the significance in every aspect of Muslim Personal Law, especially regarding the law of inheritance.
According to The Hindu, the state government will file an affidavit in the Supreme Court that all the branches of the law linked to the Muslim Personal, including the law of inheritance that are part of the Sharia law, are in accordance with the provisions given in the Constitution of India.
As per reports, the Khuran Sunnath Society and others have recently filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court to challenge an order passed by the Kerala High Court where it rejected the plea to declare practice followed by Muslims regarding the inheritance of Muslim women was violative to the principles of the Constitution.
The petitioners argued that the Muslim Personal Law discriminated against women. They further added that it violated the rights given to women by the Constitution of India in terms of equality, prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste and sex and freedom of speech and expression.
As per the Hindu’s report, their legal source informed the media house that the Kerala High Court rejected the plea and left the matter to the legislature for consideration and framing of the law as per the regulations. The State government then chaired a high-level meeting of the stakeholders, including the religious leaders and decided not to legislate the matter and urged the parties to continue following existing procedures and practices.
In another report by The Hindu, it was mentioned that VP Zuhra, President of NISA, a Kozhikode-based progressive Muslim women’s forum approached the Supreme Court and demanded equal rights for women, including the right to offer prayers in all mosques in the country. She further demanded that women should be allowed to become Imams. Notably, Zuhra was one of the petitioners in the triple talaq judgment. Two more petitions were filed by Zuhra in the apex court demanding equal property rights for Muslim women and a revision of the Muslim marriage laws.
The Kerala Government has planned to argue that those who belong to the Muslim community cannot complain about discrimination based on the principles recognised in Islam. Furthermore, the state would argue that as it is bound by the principles of the classic Muslim law, even if the petitioners feel the Sharia law discriminates, they cannot approach the court to enforce regulations against Islamic laws.
Also, the Government would argue that the belief that Islam discriminates against women in terms of inheritance is incorrect and unsustainable.
What does the Muslim law say about inheritance?
The Sharia law does not distinguish between ancestral and self-acquired property. As per the law, a Muslim woman is entitled to 1/8th of the share of the husband’s property if the couple has kids. If there were no children, she would get 1/4th of the share. In case the parents of a Muslim woman die and she becomes a legal heir, a Muslim woman is entitled to half of the inheritance compared to the male child. It is said that as a Muslim woman gets Mehr, which includes dower, which is payment for nikah documents and maintenance from the husband, it is justified to give her a lesser share. On the other hand, a Muslim man has only ancestral property for inheritance. Compared to Muslim women, Hindu women get an equal share in ancestral property as per the law.
