The Lok Sabha on Thursday, 28 December, passed a Bill that criminalises instant divorce with three years imprisonment for Muslim husbands, after the government rejected an overwhelming demand from the Opposition to refer the legislation to a parliamentary standing committee for detailed consideration.
The government's determination to get the Bill passed could be gauged from the fact that it was introduced in the morning and taken up for consideration in the afternoon by suspending relevant rules, and then passed in the evening by sitting beyond the scheduled timings of the House.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, despite opposition from members of different parties, including the RJD, AIMIM, BJD and the All India Muslim League.
"We are creating history today. This law is for women's rights and justice and not regarding any prayer, ritual or religion," Prasad said in the Lok Sabha.
The Union Minister saw no justification in the demand for referring the Bill to a standing committee, saying the affected Muslim women were crying for justice and were fully backing it. He said there were contradictions among members who wanted it to be referred to a standing committee and some arguing why the Bill was not brought earlier.
The Bill makes the act of pronouncing talaq-e-biddat a punishable offence. There is provision for subsistence allowance from the husband for the livelihood and daily needs of the wife as also of the dependent children. The wife would also be entitled to the custody of minor children.
The BJP had asked all opposition parties to help pass the Triple Talaq Bill in Parliament. However, AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen) president Asaduddin Owaisi opposed the bill sharply.
This bill violates fundamental rights and lacks legal coherence. Muslims were not consulted before tabling the bill.Asaduddin Owaisi
Congress Not Opposed to the Bill But Finds it Flawed
Questioning the amendments proposed by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Congress member Sushmita Dev said that while her party is not opposed to the bill, it is full of lacunae.
Comparing the proposed amendments to the 1984 act, Dev asked how the women will ensure the subsistence allowance if the husband is sent to jail over the very utterance of triple talaq. She said the amendments leave no scope for reconciliation.
The 1986 act says that where a magistrate has passed an order and the husband is in violation of the order, then he goes to jail. But this bill makes the mere utterance of the word criminal. Will you ensure a corpus to ensure a subsistence allowance? The bill is silent on it.
BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab also criticised the bill saying, "It is flawed and has many internal contradictions."
Before the Parliament session on Thursday, Congress leader Salman Khurshid had criticised the criminality clause in the bill.
I don’t think we can support it because they didn’t make us understand how this criminality of triple talaq will benefit women. If someone is lodged in prison as a punishment for saying triple talaq, who will take care of his family?Salman Khurshid, Congress
BJP’s Big Push to Clear The Bill
The BJP is believed to have issued a three-line whip to its MPs, asking them to be present in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
In a bid to ensure that the introduction is smooth, the BJP is understood to have issued the whip so that any stiff opposition from members on the other side at the introduction stage could be thwarted.
The bill, prepared by an inter-ministerial group and headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat in any form – spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp – “illegal and void” and provides for a jail term of three years for the husband.
The draft law also proposes maintenance and compensatory rights for the woman as well as the custody of her minor children.
SC’s Landmark Judgement on Triple Talaq
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, on 22 August, had declared the practice unconstitutional. A five-judge bench of former Chief Justice of India JS Khehar struck down the practice on the grounds that it goes against the Shariat and the basic tenets of the Quran.
The historic verdict was hailed by PM Narendra Modi who said, “It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment.”
On 15 December, the bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet, declaring triple talaq a criminal offence.
AIMPLB ‘Conspiracy’ Allegations
The Triple Talaq Bill is against the provisions of the Constitution and violates the rights of women, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had said on 24 December, demanding its withdrawal.
The board is of the view that the Triple Talaq Bill is against the Constitution, rights of women and Shariah (Islamic law). Apart from this, it is also an an attempt to interfere with the Muslim personal law. If this bill becomes a law, then women will face a host of difficulties.Maulana Khalil-ur-Rehman Sajjad Nomani, spokesperson of AIMPLB
(With inputs from IANS)
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