Uproar In Lok Sabha After Govt Tables Triple Talaq Bill

Since the Narendra Modi government returned to power in the recently held elections, it has decided to give a fresh push to these proposed laws in the newly-constituted Lok Sabha. These ordinances will have to be converted into laws within 45 days of the beginning of the session, else they will lapse.

New Delhi: A fresh bill to ban the practice of instant triple talaq was introduced by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lok Sabha on Friday.  As the contentious bill was tabled, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi vehemently opposed it saying "it won’t improve the status of Muslim women, goes against the Constitution and is discriminatory." On why there is need to do away with practices like instant triple talaq, Prasad responded, “rights of Muslim women will be protected. It is about justice & empowerment of women.” The law minister said people have chosen the NDA government to make laws and give justice to victims of triple talaq. “People have chosen us to make laws. It is our work to make laws. Law is to give justice to the victims of Triple Talaq,” he asserted. 156 members voted for introduction and 74 against.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad: We have always stated that Triple Talaq is neither an issue of religion nor of prayer nor of any other communal consideration. It is a pure & simple issue of 'insaaf' - women justice, women dignity and women empowerment. https://t.co/zfSA8YuIpG

— ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2019

Who said what:

• Shashi Tharoor of the Congress said he was opposed to triple talaq (instant divorce) but was against this bill as it conflates civil and criminal laws. He claimed it was a textbook example of class legislation as it was pointed at one community -- Muslims-- even though abandoning wives is not unique to it. Tharoor said there should be a law universally applicable to all in case of abandoning wives.
• Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM took a dig at the BJP, saying it has so much affection for Muslim women but is opposed to rights of Hindu women to enter Sabrimala Temple in Kerala. The triple talaq bill violates constitutional rights as it stipulates three-year jail term for guilty Muslim men while non-Muslim men get only one year of jail term for a similar offence, he said.
• NK Premchandran of the RSP also opposed the bill.
• Ravi Shankar Prasad said more than 200 cases were reported. "This is a question of dignity of women and we are committed to (safeguard) it," he said. He said the job of Parliament was to legislate and it was up to courts to interpret the law.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 will replace an ordinance issued in February by the previous BJP-led NDA government. With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month, the previous bill had lapsed as it was pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill, which proposes to make the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, had faced objections from the opposition parties which claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.

Cong opposes Bill on #TripleTalaq , @ShashiTharoor argues bill directed against A Community and not a universal law, as SC order already exists in such cases of deserting wives @INCIndia @abpnewstv

— Ashish/Aashu (ABP News) (@AshishSinghLIVE) June 21, 2019

The new bill is a copy of the ordinance in force Bills that are introduced in the Rajya Sabha and are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. However, bills passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapse with the dissolution of the lower house. The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice -- in September 2018 and in February 2019 -- as the contentious bill remained pending in the Rajya Sabha, though it was passed by the Lok Sabha. Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq is illegal, void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. 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 August 29, 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. In the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, the new government plans to convert 10 ordinances, including the one to ban the practice of instant triple talaq, into law. The ordinances were issued in February-March this year by the previous government as these could not be converted into Acts of Parliament in the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha. Since the Narendra Modi government returned to power in the recently held elections, it has decided to give a fresh push to these proposed laws in the newly-constituted Lok Sabha. These ordinances will have to be converted into laws within 45 days of the beginning of the session, else they will lapse. (With additional information from PTI)