Lok Sabha, on Thursday, passed the Triple Talaq Bill, officially known as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018.
The Bill was revised in the presence of Members of Parliament (MPs) during a Lok Sabha session. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Law Minister, introduced the revised bill.
The Congress party and the AIADMK (All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) opposed the action and demanded that the bill is sent to the Joint Select Committee before passing it. They argued that the bill will be harmful for Muslim women and walked out of the Lok Sabha.
The other parties against the bill were the Trinamool Congress (TMC,) the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD,) the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD.)
Despite of a lot of opposition, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill and now, it will go to the Rajya Sabha for approval.
The decision of the Rajya Sabha regarding the bill is highly anticipated as there are 73 legislative members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha, but the Party lacks a clear majority in the Upper House. The bill was passed in the Lower House with a majority of 245 votes in favour of the bill and 11 members against the bill.
Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke about the need of triple talaq for women and said, “The triple talaq bill which seeks imprisonment for Muslim men accused of instant divorce is not about politics but empowerment and justice for women. Don’t weigh the bill on the scales of politics. The bill is about humanity and justice.”
Mr. Shankar further said, the Triple Talaq Bill will help empower women and will be a step to uplift the condition of the women in India.
Mallikarjun Kharge, a Congress leader, was not in favour of passing the bill and claimed it is unconstitutional. He further said, “The bill should be referred to a joint select committee of the two Houses for greater scrutiny and since government is ignoring are demand we will walk out.”
Asaduddin Owaisi, President, All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM,) was also against the provision of the Triple Talaq Bill which talks about taking care of the wife and children. With regard to this, he said, “The government had not consulted any stakeholder on the bill.”
According to the Triple Talaq Bill, triple talaq is an offence which will lead to imprisonment. Any Muslim man who initiates triple talaq, either orally (face to face or through a phone call,) through writing, or through any social media, is punishable under the bill. A case under the bill will be valid only if the wife or any blood relative of the wife file a complaint. It is a non bail offence, wherein bail can only be granted by the magistrate after the plea of the wife. The case will be closed if the couple agrees to a settlement.
