The Supreme Court today agreed to consider listing of a batch of petitions challenging the practices of polygamy and 'nikah halala' among Muslims. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and  D Y Chandrachud considered the submissions of senior advocate V Shekhar that the petitions be listed before a five-judge constitution bench for final adjudication.

"We will look into it," the bench said. Mr Shekhar and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, appearing for one of the Delhi-based petitioners Sameena Begum, alleged that she was threatened and asked to withdraw her petition challenging 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims.
The bench, meanwhile, allowed Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, to file a response to the petition on the issue.

Nikah-halala is a practice intended to curb the incidence of divorce under which a man cannot remarry his former wife without her having to go through the process of marrying someone else, consummating it, getting divorced and observing a separation period called 'Iddat' before coming back to him.