Triple talaq case in Supreme Court: A timeline of events

A five-judge Supreme Court Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar on Tuesday barred the triple talaq – the practice that allows Muslim men to instantaneously divorce their wives by uttering talaq (divorce) thrice -- for six months and urged Parliament to bring a new law.

Here is a timeline of hearings that led to the apex court's most awaited verdict:

August 22, 2017
The Supreme Court stayed the practice of 'triple talaq' for six months asking the Parliament to bring a new legislation in the matter.

May 18, 2017
SC reserves verdict on batch of petitions challenging constitutional validity of triple talaq practice among Muslims.

May 17, 2017
SC asks the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) whether a woman can be given an option of saying 'no' to triple talaq at the time of execution of nikahnama (Islamic marriage contract). A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar also said if all Qazis can be asked to include this condition at the time of marriage.

May 16, 2017
AIMPLB says triple talaq is a 1,400-year-old practice, and constitutional morality and equity cannot arise when a matter of faith is concerned.

May 15, 2017
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that the Centre will bring in a new law to regulate and marriage divorce among Muslims if the practice of triple talaq is declared unconstitutional. The SC also refused to hear all the three cases of Polygamy, Nikah and Halala at once, saying it will focus on ne matter at a time.

May 12, 2017
SC says the practice of triple talaq was the "worst" and "not desirable" form of dissolution of marriages among Muslims, even though there were schools of thought which termed it as "legal".

May 11, 2017
SC says it would determine if the Muslim practice of triple talaq is in line with the Constitution and fundamental to Islam. "We will only look at triple talaq and whether it is constitutional and not go into issues such as polygamy," a five-judge Constitution bench said.

May 3, 2017
SC allows Salman Khurshid as amicus curiae in hearing of pleas challenging constitutional validity of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy.

April 29, 2017
The opposition charged Modi with politicising the triple talaq issue for electoral mileage even as BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya said Muslim men use it to change wives and satisfy 'lust'.

April 21, 2017
The Delhi high court dismissed a plea seeking to stop the practice of triple talaq on Hindu women married to Muslim men.

April 18, 2017
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said practice of triple talaq should not be allowed as women have as much right as men and cannot be treated on a lower pedestal.

April 17, 2017
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday the politicians maintaining silence on the issue of triple talaq were equally responsible as those practising it as he linked the Muslim practice of divorce to the disrobing of Draupadi in the Mahabharata.

April 16, 2017
Raising the 'triple talaq' issue, PM Narendra Modi said justice should be done to Muslim women. AIMPLB said that the board has decided to issue a code of conduct and warned that those who give talaq (divorce) without Sharia (Islamic law) reasons will face social boycott.

April 14, 2017
BSP chief Mayawati says that SC should decide the issue of triple talaq as per the Constitution to ensure justice for Muslim women.

April 11, 2017
The Centre has told the SC that the practices of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy impact the social status and dignity of Muslim women and deny them fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

March 30, 2017
SC says these issues are "very important" and involve "sentiments" and says a constitution bench would start hearing from May 11.

March 27, 2017
AIMPLB tells SC that these pleas were not maintainable as the issues fall outside judiciary's realm.

February 16, 2017
SC says a five-judge constitution bench would be set up to hear and decide the challenge on 'triple talaq', 'nikah halala' and polygamy.

February 14, 2017
SC allows various interlocutory pleas to be tagged along with the main matter.

December 9, 2016
The Allahabad high court, in a verdict, stopped short of calling the practice of triple talaq under Muslim law unconstitutional but observed that personal laws could not override constitutionally guaranteed rights of individuals.

October 7, 2016
For the first time in India's constitutional history, Centre opposes in SC these practices and favours a relook on grounds like gender equality and secularism.

June 29, 2016
SC says triple talaq among the Muslims will be tested on "touchstone of constitutional framework".

March 28, 2016
SC asks Centre to file a copy of the report of a high-level panel on 'Women and the law: An assessment of family laws with focus on laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and succession'. SC also impleads various organisations, including the AIMPLB, as parties in the suo motu matter.

February 5, 2016
SC asks Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to assist it on the pleas challenging constitutional validity of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy.

October 16, 2015
SC bench asks CJI to set up an appropriate bench to examine if Muslim women face gender discrimination in cases of divorce while dealing with a case of Hindu succession.