Muslim Law Board Plans to Open Sharia Courts in All Districts of India; Waqf Board Says 'Illegal'

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board or (AIMPLB), the highest decision making body on Muslim affairs, has decided to open Darul Qaza (Sharia courts) in all districts of the country to address issues in line with Islamic laws.

The AIMPLB will discuss the arrangement of funds and resources to implement this decision in its meeting on July 15.

The board is of the view that anomalies in interpretation of Sharia law can be removed by having proper Sharia courts in each district, so that proper counselling can be given to people of Muslim community with the help of these courts.

"At present there are 40 such courts in Uttar Pradesh. We plan to open one such court in every districts of the country. The objective of Darul-Qaza is to resolve matters in light of Shariat laws instead of going to other courts," said senior member AIMPLB, Zafaryab Zilani.

The board is also of the view that the increased number of these Sharia courts will encourage people to approach them for disputes arising out of family, including Nikah, Talaq and property matters.

The idea of Sharia Courts is nothing new for India but this move of increasing the number of Sharia courts becomes important in the wake of government’s move to do away with Triple Talaq and Nikah Halala issues.

Speaking to News18 on the issue, Chairman of Shia Waqf Board, Syed Waseem Rizvi said, “You can go for mediation centers but you cannot open ‘Courts’, this is illegal. You cannot appoint Qazis (Judges), the moment you name it court and appoint a Qazi it becomes illegal. Mediation is welcome but running own courts is definitely not.”

Meanwhile, senior advocate Zafaryab Jilani has said that Sharia Courts is totally legal and upheld by the Supreme Court.

“People who are saying that it’s illegal should know about Supreme Court’s judgment. Darul Qaza or Sharia Courts are legal and upheld by the Supreme Court. Also the proposal for strengthening and rise in the number of Sharia Courts is nothing new. This proposal comes up in every meeting of the AIMPLB,” Jilani said.

Darul qaza is more like arbitration than law. If parties are not convinced with arbitration as per the Sharia law, then are free to move to the civil courts.