Lok Sabha passes bill to ban instant triple talaq

Bill sails through via voice vote, rejecting several proposed amendments; passage in Rajya Sabha to hinge on support from Congress

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Thursday made history by passing a law criminalising instant triple talaq in a move that significantly empowers Muslim women, although the legislation will now have to be cleared by the Upper House of Parliament.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which has opposed the law, has said if the Rajya Sabha passes the bill, it will approach the Supreme Court, which, in August held the practice unconstitutional and illegal, though it didn’t rule on or suggest criminalising instant triple talaq.

The proposed law, which stipulated up to three years of jail and a penalty for violators, was passed amidst concern from opposition members that it was criminalising what was essentially a civil procedure, and that it could be misused. Some Muslim women’s groups have also

raised concerns about “maintenance” if the husband is sent to jail. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill seeks to “ensure the larger constitutional goals of gender justice and gender equality of married Muslim women and

help sub-serve their fundamental rights of non-discrimination and empowerment”, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the House.

Most opposition parties were in favour of a law to deter Muslim men from practising talaq-e-

biddat or instant triple talaq, and they demanded wider consultations and changes in the bill. The bill was passed by a voice vote after rejecting a resolution moved by Revolutionary Socialist Party member NK Premachandran.