A fresh bill to ban the practice of instant triple talaq will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, which has been listed in the Lok Sabha’s agenda for Friday, will replace an ordinance issued in February by the previous BJP-led NDA government.
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With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month, the previous bill had lapsed as it was pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier on Thursday, President Ram Nath Kovind, while addressing a joint session of the Parliament, had called for the removal of practices like ‘Triple Talaq’ and Nikah-Halala’ to ensure equal rights for women.
President Kovind in February promulgated the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Second Ordinance, 2019 to give continued effect to the provisions brought in by Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019.
The ordinance declares the practice of triple talaq to be void and illegal and makes it an offence punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine.
Opposition parties and some community leaders have claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife is legally untenable. The government has asserted that it provides justice and equality to Muslim women.
The former NDA government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice.
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, which lapsed on June 3.
Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government had included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision of bail for the accused before trial.
These amendments were cleared by the Cabinet on August 29, 2018. While the ordinance makes it a “non-bailable” offence, an accused can approach a magistrate even before trial to seek bail.
The triple talaq bill was on the top of the government’s agenda as the winter session of Parliament commenced on December 11 last year.
The Modi government wanted to get the Parliament’s nod on the bill before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Supreme Court had in August 2017 declared “Triple Talaq” unconstitutional and in violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which provides for equality before the law and directed the government to enact a law on the issue.
