new Delhi, India - The central government has informed the Supreme Court that fatwas issued by Shariat courts to settle disputes cannot be enforced as they are only advisory in nature.
In its reply to a petition by advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan seeking a direction to refrain the All India Muslim Personal Law Board from establishing a parallel Muslim judicial system in the country, the centre justified the establishment of such courts by saying that they did not conflict with the Indian judicial system.
In his public suit, Madan submitted that a Muslim woman, Imrana, was allegedly raped by her father-in-law and the village panchayat issued a fatwa asking her to treat her father-in-law as her husband. The Darul-Uloom seminary also declared that Imrana became ineligible to live with her husband. This was endorsed by the board.
He contended that matters relating to Imrana's status of marriage and dissolution of marriage were covered by Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. He said a parallel Muslim judicial system (Nizam-e-Qaza) was sought to be introduced by the setting up of Dar-ul-Qaza (courts) at various places in India, which had actually started functioning as courts of justice.
In its reply filed Wednesday, the centre said: 'The 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 to settle disputes between two persons professing Islam, according to Shariat.'
Seeking dismissal of the petition, the centre said fatwas issued by the religious courts were only advisory in nature and did not compel anyone to follow them.
The objective of these religious courts was to bring about amicable settlement between the parties and such a system was in vogue even in many non-Islamic countries, it added.