New Delhi: A day after President Ram Nath Kovind addressed a joint session of Parliament, the Triple Talaq Bill has been tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
After introducing the 'Triple Talaq Bill - 2019', Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law and Justice, said that the Bill would protect the rights of Muslim women and it was all about justice and women empowerment.
"This is not a question of religion but about justice to women," Prasad added.
Meanwhile, the government on Friday introduced the fresh triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha amid vehement protests by opposition members who claimed that it was violative of the Constitution.
Seeking to justify the need to bring in the legislation, Prasad said there were 543 cases of triple talaq reported in the country.
The bill was introduced following a division of votes, with 186 members supporting and 74 opposing it.
After the Supreme Court judgement banning triple talaq practise, 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.
Prasad also said the job of Parliament was to legislate and it was up to courts to interpret the law.
As soon as Speaker Om Birla asked Prasad to move the bill, several opposition members rose in protest and Birla allowed them to put forth their point of view.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019 became the first legislation to be tabled in Parliament by the Narendra Modi dispensation in its second term, with Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserting the legislation was a must for gender equality and justice.
Key Points:
1. Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khansaid that his party will support what is written in the Quran.
2.Shashi Tharoor of the Congresssaid 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 only Muslim community 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.
3. Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIMtook 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.
- Owaisi called Triple Talaq bill unconstitutional and said that it is a violation of Constitution's Article 14 & 15. "We already have Domestic Violence Act 2005, CrPC Section 125, Muslim Women Marriage Act. If Triple Talaq Bill becomes a law it will be even greater injustice against women," he said.
- 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, Owaisi said.
4. N K Premchandran of the RSP also opposed the bill. With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month, the previous bill had lapsed as it was pending in the Rajya Sabha.
What is Triple Talaq Bill ?
The Bill, which proposes to make the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, had faced objections from opposition parties from the beginning which claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.
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.
- As per the bill, 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 giving triple talaq is a "non-bailable" offence as per the bill, 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".
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