Triple Talaq bill to be introduced in coming Parliament session
New Delhi, Jun 12 (UNI): The NDA government on Wednesday announced that the Triple Talaq Bill would be brought again in Parliament in the coming session that would get under way next week.
Fulfilling one of the promises to the people, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 by replacing the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Second Ordinance, 2019 (Ordinance 4 of 2019), information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said.
He said that bringing the Bill in the coming session was part of the philosophy of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas" that has been the pivot of NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Javadekar said the bill would ensure gender equality and gender justice to Muslim women. The bill would also help in protecting the rights of married Muslim women and prevent divorce by practice of "talaq-e-biddat" by their husbands.
The bill proposes to declare the practice of triple talaq as void and illegal. It also makes an offence punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine.
It also provides for payment of subsistence allowance to married Muslim women and dependent children.
The bill also proposes to make the offence cognisable, if information relating to the commission of an offence is given to an officer in charge of a police station by the married Muslim woman, upon whom talaq is pronounced or by any person related to her by blood or marriage.
The offence is made compoundable with the permission of the magistrate at the instance of the married Muslim woman, upon whom talaq is pronounced.
The bill further provides for hearing the married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced, before the accused is released on bail by the magistrate.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 is on similar lines of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Second Ordinance, 2019.
The Opposition parties, led by Congress, had been opposing provisions of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where the government did not have enough numbers to ensure its passage.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which made the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, was opposed by the Opposition parties, which among other things, also claimed that jail term for the husband for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.
The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice.
A bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha twice and was pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Bills that are introduced in Rajya Sabha and are pending, do not lapse with the dissolution of Lok Sabha, but the draft laws passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha, however, lapse.
Image credit: UNI
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