The Triple Talaq Bill, which is part of the BJP manifesto for the 2019 general election, will “definitely will be reintroduced in Parliament”, The Indian Express reported on Monday, 3 June, quoting Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Prasad, a senior BJP leader, took charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice in New Delhi on Monday.
With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha, the contentious bill on banning triple talaq lapsed as it could not be passed by Rajya Sabha, news agency PTI reported on 27 May.
The bill could not be passed by Rajya Sabha in the Budget session, the last Parliament session of the outgoing government.
Bills introduced in Rajya Sabha and pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of Lok Sabha. Bills passed by the Lok Sabha, and pending in the Rajya Sabha, however, lapse.
‘Jail Term for Husband Legally Untenable’: Opposition Parties Oppose the Bill
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill which made the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, was opposed by the opposition parties which had claimed that jail term for the husband for divorcing his wife is legally untenable, according to PTI.
The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice. Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband.
A Bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December and was pending in the Rajya Sabha. Since the Bill could not get parliamentary approval, a fresh ordinance was issued.
Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government has included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision for bail for the accused during trial.
These amendments were cleared by the Cabinet on 29 August 2018. While the ordinance makes it a "non-bailable" offence, an accused can approach a magistrate even before trial to seek bail.
In a non-bailable offence, bail cannot be granted by police at the police station itself.
A provision was added to allow the magistrate to grant bail "after hearing the wife", the government had said.
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express)
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