The government on Friday introduced the bill to ban instanttriple talaq and make the practice a punishable offence under the Indian PenalCode in the Lok Sabha, amidst the opposition’s criticism that it will harmMuslim families and that it was discriminatory.
Soon after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tabled theMuslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 in the lower House,opposition members demanded that wider consultations involving the entirespectrum of political parties should take place before its introduction.
Speaker Om Birla sought a voice vote and ruled that the Billcould be introduced in the House. But the opposition members continued to raiseobjections and pressed for a vote.
The Bill was introduced after 186 MPs voted in favour and 74against it.
While introducing the Bill, Prasad said people elected thegovernment to make laws and it was their duty to do so. He also said thatparliamentarians should not become judges.
“Let Parliament legislate and the courts debate thelegality of a law. The Modi government was voted to power in the Lok Sabha forbringing such laws and ensuring justice to women.
“The law is to give justice to the victims of tripletalaq… as per information, a total of 543 cases of triple talaq came to lightafter 2017. Of them, 229 came after the Supreme Court judgment (declaring thepractice unconstitutional) and only 31 after an ordinance on the issue wasissued,” he said.
Opposing the Bill, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul MuslimeenPresident Asaduddin Owaisi noted that abandoning a wife attracted up to oneyear jail term under the Hindu Marriage Act and sought to know why Muslim menhad to undergo harsher punishment for the same crime.
“The Bill violates Articles 14 (equality) and 15(against discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, race, sex, etc) of theConstitution. The Supreme Court has declared instant triple talaq void meaningthe marriage does not end by such pronouncements. It puts the burden of on thewoman while her husband would be in jail for three years for pronouncinginstant triple talaq,” he said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and Revolutionary SocialistParty’s N.K. Premachandran also spoke against it.
Tharoor said the Bill did nothing to benefit Muslim women.”Instead of protecting Muslim women, the Bill criminalizes Muslimmen,” he said, adding that the proposed law is a “textbook example ofclass legislation” as it discriminates against Muslims.
The MP said he is not advocating instant triple talaq butopposing making a “void act” a criminal offence punishable with ajail term. “Abandoning of women by husbands is not unique to Muslimcommunity, it is equally prevalent among other communities and so why not makea universal law to provide total protection to all women,” he said.
Premachandran said the Bill violated the Constitution’sArticle 32 (redressal for violations of fundamental rights) and added thatmarriage disputes should not be put in the purview of a criminal act.
The first Bill to be introduced in the 17th Lok Sabha, itwas introduced to replace an ordinance issued earlier this year by the previousBJP-led NDA government. The Bill, which proposes to make the practice ofinstant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, was introduced inDecember 2017 but was pending in the Rajya Sabha and had lapsed owing todissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month.
The government had promulgated the Ordinance on triple talaqtwice — in September 2018 and in January 2019 — as the contentious billremained pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in writtenor electronic form, to be void and illegal. It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddator any other similar form of talaq as the practice under Muslim personal lawswhere pronouncement of the word “talaq” thrice in one sitting by aMuslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce.
It makes declaration of such talaq a cognizable offence –where the accused can be arrested without a warrant, and liable to a punishmentof three years imprisonment and fine.
The offence, however, will be cognizable only if informationrelating to the offence is given by the woman against whom talaq has beendeclared or any person related to her by blood or marriage.
A woman against whom talaq has been declared is entitled tosubsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependentchildren. The amount of the allowance will be determined by a magistrate.