Create a custom practice set
Pick category, difficulty, number of questions, and time limit. Start instantly with your own quiz.
Generate QuizGK Question
In Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court applied Constitutional Morality to hold that constitutional values of gender equality override discriminatory religious customs, illustrating that ______ morality prevails over social morality in matters affecting fundamental rights.
- traditional
- Constitutional
- religious
- cultural
Answer: Constitutional
Shayara Bano (2017) Constitutional Morality overrides social morality: (a) Context: Challenge to instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) practice in Muslim personal law, (b) Supreme Court holding (3:2 majority): (i) Applied Constitutional Morality: Constitutional values (gender equality, dignity) override social morality (majoritarian views, discriminatory customs), (ii) Instant triple talaq unconstitutional: Violates Article 14 (arbitrary, manifestly unreasonable), gender equality under Fundamental Rights, (iii) Not essential practice of Islam protected under Article 25; religious freedom subject to Fundamental Rights scrutiny, (c) Applications: (i) Legislative follow-up: Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 criminalized instant triple talaq, (ii) Broader principle: Personal laws subject to Fundamental Rights scrutiny; religious freedom (Article 25) balanced with gender equality (Articles 14, 15), (iii) Comparative cases: Joseph Shine (2018) struck down adultery law (Section 497 IPC) as violating gender equality, dignity, autonomy, (d) Rationale: (i) Constitutional supremacy: Constitution protects minorities and individuals against majoritarian impulses; democratic legitimacy requires respecting constitutional limits, not just popular will, (ii) Transformative constitutionalism: Using Constitution as tool for social justice, not merely reflecting existing social norms, (iii) Rights protection: Constitutional values (dignity, equality, liberty) provide normative framework for protecting marginalized groups, (e) Challenges: (i) Implementation: Awareness among Muslim women about legal rights, access to justice, (ii) Social change: Legal reform requires accompanying social education, community engagement, (iii) Balance: Respect for religious diversity while protecting individual rights, especially of marginalized within communities, (f) Illustrates transformative constitutionalism: Constitutional Morality as tool for advancing substantive equality; courts protect constitutional values against majoritarian impulses to realize transformative vision of dignity, justice for all.