Thiruvananthapuram: Progressive Muslim organisations in the state have slammed the reported stand of the Pinarayi Vijayan government in backing Sharia law as valid under the Constitution.
According to reports, the Kerala government is set to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court that all the branches of the law linked to the Muslim Personal Law, including the law of inheritance, are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India.
Khuran Sunnath Society, which has been spearheading a campaign for reforming Islamic laws, described the Kerala government’s move as a jolt to the Muslim population, particularly to the Muslim women, who are denied any right to parents’ property under Sharia.
In fact, the Society has 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 as violative to the principles of the Constitution.
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The apex court has asked the Kerala government to file an affidavit on the issue and the backing of Sharia law by the state government.
The Kerala High Court had held that this was an issue beyond its jurisdiction and cited the Supreme Court orders that it was a fit case for the legislature to consider.
NISA, a Kozhikode-based progressive Muslim women’s forum, warned the Kerala government of agitation if it plans to vouch for the legal validity of the Sharia law. NISA president VP Suhra has threatened to launch a fast-unto-death outside the state secretariat demanding the state government drop its plan.
The Quran Sunnath Society’s petition in the Supreme Court challenges the Sharia law on the ground that it is based on a misinterpretation of various Quranic principles. The petition pleads that there is discrimination on the ground of sex, which is against the principles of equality enshrined in the Constitution.
