30. (SOCIAL-30) CONSTITUTIONAL RELEVENCE OF SHARIAT COURTS IN INDIA.
"The FATWA has no place in Independent INDIA and can't be used to punish innocent" the Supreme Court on Monday 7th July ruled. "A Shariat court, issuing fatwa and order against a person who is not before it, has no sanction of law and has no legal status. But if people still want to approach these courts, it's their will," The apex court said that "Islamic judges, who interpret religious law, could only rule when individuals submitted voluntarily to them and their decisions, or fatwas, were not legally binding. Some fatwas may be wise and may be for general good also. People in this country are wise enough. If two Muslims agree for mediation, who can stay it? It is a blend of arbitration and mediation, but it is not binding on anyone including the person who had asked for it" The petitioner a Delhi based lawyer, Vishwa Lochan Madan filed a petition in 2005, challenging the legality of parallel courts run by institut