India, Aug. 1 -- The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre's response on a plea to declare the practice of polygamy among Muslims as unconstitutional for being violative of constitutional provisions.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joaymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice to the Centre on a petition filed by women's rights activists Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Safia Niaz and others. The bench tagged the plea with pending matters.

The plea sought direction for applying Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which punishes bigamy uniformly and by removing any exemptions under the Muslim Personal Law. It sought directions to the Centre to take legislative steps to abolish the practice of polygamy and ensure ...