Union Cabinet approves ordinance banning Triple Talaq

The Opposition has been demanding a debate on the issue in Parliament over the issue. TheThe 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill'was passed in the lower House of Parliament the Lok Sabha on December 29, 2017, it is yet to be passed in the Upper House the Rajya Sabha.

The Opposition had asked the government to refer the bill to the Select Committee for further scrutiny. The billcould not be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament due to non-consensus. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu noted that no consensus could be built around it

The Bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife through Triple Talaq, in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said the Modi government is not making this an issue for justice for Muslim women, but "making it into a political issue."

Speaking on the issue at a press conference, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad defended the government's move, saying: "The barbaric inhuman Triple Talaq was not allowed to be ended by a Parliamentary law for pure vote bank politics," adding,"the core component of this Ordinance is that an offence will be cognizable only when the FIR is filed by the victim wife or her close relations by blood or marriage."

PM Modi during his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address last month had said: "The Triple Talaq bill was passed in Lok Sabha, but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha. But, I would like to assure Muslim women that the entire nation is there with them and we will ensure that they get justice."

The Cabinet had earlier approved an amendment in Triple Talaq Bill introduceing the provision wherein a magistrate can grant bail to the guilty.

The offence continues to remain illegal and void with a jail term of three years for the offender.

"Cabinet has approved amendments in the law relating to Triple Talaq. We've proposed 3 changes. If any husband gives Triple Talaq instantaneously and breaks the marriage then an FIR shall only become cognizable when it is filed by victim or blood relation or relation by marriage," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had informed last month.