Triple Talaq Bill: Cabinet approves amendment, now magistrates can grant bail to guilty  

The Cabinet on Thursday approved an amendment in Triple Talaq Bill which introduces 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 thelaw 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 told media today.

The 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill' was cleared by Lok Sabha and is pending in Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers. The demand for a provision of bail was previously raised by the Opposition.

The proposed law will now let the victim approach a magistrate and get "subsistence allowance" for herself and for minor children.

The magistrate will also have the power to decide whether or not the victim can seek the custody of her minor children.

(With inputs from PTI)