The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in response to petitions from Shayara Banu and other Muslim women, who have urged the apex court to declare triple talaq unconstitutional.

The 68-page affidavit said that, "Sharia grants right to divorce to husbands because men have greater power of decision making. They are more likely to control emotions and not take hasty decisions,"

The affidavit argued that the court's concern for protection of Muslim women from alleged arbitrary divorce was erroneous as their rights were protected by Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which was enacted by the Rajiv Gandhi government to annul the SC's Shah Bano judgment in 1985.

The board said the practice provided an easy mode to end marriages that had irretrievably broken down. Keeping the husband and wife together when the husband did not want the woman made the husband and his family inflict mental and physical torture on the woman.

It is a very private method of divorce without going to court and making public the differences between the couple and then awaiting a long process for the outcome. Court proceedings and trading of charges by the couple harmed the reputation of the woman more than that of the man, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said.

"A Muslim man can delegate his power of pronouncing talaq to his wife or to any other person. However, such delegation does not deprive the husband of his own right to pronounce talaq. A Muslim husband may delegate the power absolutely or conditionally, temporarily or permanently," AIMPLB said.

On the practice of polygamy, the board said, "Quran, Hadith and the consensus view allow Muslim men to have up to four wives." It said Islam permitted polygamy but did not encourage it.

"However, polygamy meets social and moral needs and the provision for it stems from concern and sympathy for women," it said.

"Since polygamy is endorsed by primary Islamic sources, it cannot be dubbed as something prohibited," it said. "Where women outnumber men and polygamy is not permitted, women will be forced into leading spinster's life. In sum, polygamy is not for gratifying men's lust, it is a social need," the board said.

"Women should appreciate this point that if the ratio of women is higher, would they prefer wedlock , or let them be illicit mistresses of men, without any of the rights which a wife gets," it said.

Also Read: Surrogacy bill 2016: Complete ban on commercial surrogacy in India

Nandini