Triple Talaq Bill: 10 things to know about Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018

The bill proposes to make instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a punishable offence with a jail term of up to three years with a fine.

(Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the triple talaq bill after a vociferous debate and a high voltage drama unfolding in the Lower House of the Parliament, with the Congress and the AIADMK staging walkout from the chamber before voting. The bill will now be discussed in the Rajya Sabha. Here are ten things to know about it:

• The official name for the bill against triple talaq practice is Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018.
• The bill proposes to make instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a punishable offence with a jail term of up to three years with a fine.
• As per Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the bill has made the offence compoundable, meaning that the case can be withdrawn if the man and his estranged wife reach a compromise, only the wife and her close relatives can file an FIR, ruling out the law's misuse.
• The fresh Bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 to replace an ordinance issued in September.
• The fresh bill will supersede an earlier bill passed in Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha.
• In the previous case, amid opposition by some parties in the upper house, the government had then cleared some amendments, including introduction of a provision of bail, to make it more acceptable.
• The government is at liberty to re-promulgate the ordinance if the bill fails to get through Parliament.
• Citing details of instant triple talaq cases, the government had last week informed the Lok Sabha that till now 430 incidents of triple talaq have come to the notice of the government through the media.
• Of these, 229 were reported before the Supreme Court judgement, while another 201 came to the notice after it.
• These cases were reported between the period of January 2017 and September 13, 2018.

(Based on PTI inputs)