AP: India's Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the Muslim practice that allows men to instantly divorce their wives--by saying “talaq” three times--as unconstitutional.

The bench, comprising five senior judges of different faiths, deliberated for three months before issuing its order in response to petitions from seven Muslim women who had been divorced through the practice known as triple talaq.

Indian law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on NDTV that since the court deemed the practice unconstitutional there is no need for any further legislative action by the government.

The decision was widely lauded by women's rights activists as a step toward granting Muslim women greater equality and justice.

"It's a very happy day for us. It's a historic day," said Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Indian Muslim Women's Movement, which was part of the legal battle to end triple talaq.

"We, the Muslim women, are entitled to justice from the courts as well as the legislature," she said. “I wouldn’t say that it ends here, in fact a proper longer battle for social reform, for empowerment, for awareness, for education has to be taken up.” >>>