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Modi government to bring Ordinance on Triple Talaq

The Much Talked About Triple Talaq Bill Has Been Passed Twice In The LoK Sabha, First In December 2017 And Again On December 2018.

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Raghwendra Shukla | Updated on: 20 Feb 2019, 12:32:10 AM
Once signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, the triple talaq ordinance will come into force for the third time in less than one year. (File Photo)

New Delhi:

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to bring the Triple Talaq ordinance, which makes the practise of instant triple talaq by Muslim men a penal offence. A bill which seeks to make the practise of talaq-e-biddat void, is pending in Rajya Sabha. The bill will lapse on June 3 with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha.

The Cabinet has given its nod to the Triple Talaq ordinance, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. Once signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, the triple talaq ordinance will come into force for the third time in less than one year. 

The much talked about Triple Talaq Bill has been passed twice in the LoK Sabha, first in December 2017 and again on December 2018.

A bill on the ordinance making the practise of 'talaq-e-biddat' (instance divorce) void and an offence is pending in Rajya Sabha. The bill will lapse on June 3 with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha. 

Opposition parties and some community leaders have claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife is legally untenable. The government has asserted that it provides justice and equality to Muslim women.

To a question about the need for a government to clear several ordinances, including the one on triple talaq, weeks ahead of the general election, Jaitley said discussions on these ordinances and bills had been "physically prevented" in Parliament.

"It (discussion) has not been prevented because numbers were against it... Indian democracy cannot be helpless. Extraordinary situations do call for such steps," he said, adding that some ordinances, including one against inter-state ponzi scheme, are in a larger national interest. 

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband

A Bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September, 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December and was pending in the Rajya Sabha. Since the Bill could not get parliamentary approval, a fresh ordinance was issued. 

Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government has included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision of bail for the accused before trial. 

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First Published : 19 Feb 2019, 08:27:42 PM

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