The Triple Talaq bill has brought back controversies after the government re-introduced it in the Lok Sabha on June 21.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill is the first legislation to be put forward in the Modi 2.0 government.
However, the moment this bill was tabled, it sparked major protests from leaders of the opposition parties, who have continuously claimed that this bill is religion motivated.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that this bill is mandatory for gender equality and justice. Prasad stated that as many as 543 cases of triple talaq have been reported and more than 200 have been reported after the Supreme Court ban on this maligning practice.
Earlier on June 20, President Ram Nath Kovind, in his joint parliamentary address, avouched to do away with the practices of instant talaq and nikah halala.
Instant Triple Talaq or 'Talaq-e-Biddat' is the age-old practice among Muslims where a Muslim man divorces his wife by chanting ‘talaq’ three times in a row.
'Nikah Halala', on the other hand, requires a divorced Muslim woman to marry another man and consummate the marriage in order to return to her former husband.
The BJP government had, in its manifesto, promised to do away with both of these practices and is trying to criminalise triple talaq by Muslim men.
After the 2017 Supreme Court verdict on instant triple talaq, the previous Narendra Modi govt had introduced the Triple Talaq bill in the Lok Sabha in December 2017, only to be rejected in the Rajya Sabha, where the saffron party lacks a majority.
The Modi government had argued that the top court's verdict wasn't enough to alleviate gender disparity harboured against Muslim women and hence resorted to promulgating an ordinance on the same.
Initially, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance was decreed in September 2018 but soon lapsed due to lack of Parliamentary approval.
Under the Triple Talaq ordinance, a Muslim man divorcing his wife through instant triple talaq (whether in written or electronic form) is punishable by law and will be awarded a term of up to three years.
However, the Opposition has consistently questioned the "cognizable" nature of this bill, which will allow the accused to be arrested without a warrant.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on June 21, asserted that the triple talaq bill is "unconstitutional" as it segregates Muslim men and non-Muslim men, penalising the former with a three-year stipulated jail term, whereas Non- Muslim men only serve a jail term of one year for a similar offence.
Owaisi further stated that this bill is against Article 14 and Article 15 of the Indian Constitution and doesn’t necessarily benefit Muslim women.
“The Constitution lays down that if we make a discriminatory law, we will have to satisfy two tests — intelligible differentia and rational nexus. In this case, the Supreme Court has already said that the marriage is not going to end. We have the Domestic Violence Act, the Muslim Women protection Act 1986. Hence, your bill doesn't satisfy intelligible differentia," the MP added.
The AIMIM chief further took a dig at the BJP government, citing the Sabarimala temple issue, questioning the government’s sentiment for the Hindu women.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also opposed the Triple Talaq ordinance citing that the bill is discriminatory in nature, as it targets only one community- the Muslims.
The Congress party had tweeted the same, making the Opposition's standpoint clear on the bill.
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