Discussion on 'Triple Talaq: Examining Faith' by Salman Khurshid

Speaker: Mr Salman Khurshid is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. He is a former Indian Union Cabinet Minister and has served as the Minister of External Affairs, Law and Justice, Minority Affairs and Water Resources, among others. Mr Khurshid has published widely. In 1973, he graduated from St Stephen's College in Delhi with a BA in English (Hons). He subsequently read for the BA in jurisprudence, the BCL and the MA at the University of Oxford. Mr Khurshid was also the Liu Po Shan Lecturer in Law at Trinity College, Oxford from 1978-1980. He remains an Honorary Fellow at St Edmund Hall, Oxford.

Abstract: The discussion will consider various aspects of 'triple talaq' including its religious sanction and aura. Mr Khurshid has written extensively on this issue in his recent book, 'Triple Talaq: Examining Faith'. The main focus of the discussion will be on the recent triple talaq judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Shayara Bano v Union of India AIR 2017 SC 4609. Additionally, Mr Khurshid may also reflect on the proposed Triple Talaq Bill. The Bill, he argues, is unwanted and unjustified. There is no justification for using the sanction of criminality when the practice has already been nullified by the apex court. 

Primary Discussant: Chintan Chandrachud is an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, London. He is the author of 'Balanced Constitutionalism: Courts and Legislatures in India and the United Kingdom'. He writes frequently for Indian newspapers, including the Indian Express and the Hindu.

Blogger: Maulshree Pathak is currently studying for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford. Prior to the MSc, Maulshree worked at the chambers of Mr Sanjay Parikh. She has also pursued a judicial clerkship at the Supreme Court of India under Justice V Gopala Gowda. She obtained her undergraduate degree in law from the National Law University, Delhi in 2015. Her areas of interest include criminal justice, sentencing, constitutional law and human rights law.