Lok Sabha passes Bill that criminalises triple talaq

New Delhi The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill that criminalises instant divorce with three years of imprisonment for Muslim husbands after the government rejected an overwhelming demand from the Opposition to refer the legislation to a Parliamentary standing committee for detailed consideration The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill 2017 was passed by a voice vote after rejecting a resolution moved by Revolutionary Socialist Party member NK Premachandran that the legislation be circulated for public opinionRepresentational PictureVarious amendments moved by opposition members including Asaduddin Owaisi AIMIM and Premachandran were negatived in divisionsThe governments determination to get the Bill passed could be gauged from the fact that it was introduced in the morning and taken up for consideration in the afternoon by suspending relevant rules and then passed in the evening by sitting late beyond the scheduled close of the HouseLaw and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who introduced the bill and later piloted it in the Lok Sabha said history was being created todayHe said the issue was not of religion or faith but of gender justice and gender equality and appealed to all the parties to rise above political considerations and politics of votebank Women are seeing that justice will be done to them Let us speak in one voice that we are for gender justice and gender equity and pass the Bill unanimously Prasad said winding up the discussionHe said instances of instant triple talaq continue despite the Supreme Court ruling it as unconstitutional in August this year The bill seeks to declare pronouncement of talaqebiddat three pronouncements of talaq at one go by Muslim husbands void and illegal in view of the Supreme Court verdictPrasad said while Justice Rohington Nariman and UU Lalit held in their judgment in August that instant divorce was unconstitutional and the government should look at bringing a law Justice Kurian Joseph had observed that what is a sin in Islamic laws cannot be legalThe Minister saw no justification in the demand for referring the Bill to a standing committee saying the affected Muslim women were crying for justice and were fully backing it He said there was contradiction in members wanting it to be referred to a standing committee and some arguing why it was not brought earlierThe Bill makes the act of pronouncing talaqebiddat punishable offence There is provision for subsistence allowance from the husband for the livelihood and daily supporting needs of the wife as also of the dependent children The wife would also be entitled to the custody of minor childrenIntervening in the debate Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said time was now ripe for the passage of the legislation in the interest of Muslim women He recalled an instance of a British journalist interviewing the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru after the passage of the Hindu code Bill when she asked when would the government introduce reforms in Muslim lawsNehru was not opposed to reforms of Muslim personal laws but merely said the time was not opportune then Akbar said That time has come nowThough Opposition members including from the Congress supported the legislation they wanted it to be referred to a parliamentary committee so that several lacunae can be removed and the provisions strengthened in favour of Muslim women The law must ensure that subsistence allowance and maintenance to the women and the children was not stopped they feltSome felt that the BJP government was in a haste to pass the Bill not because of its concern for Muslim women but because it sees this as a first step towards bringing in a uniform civil code They wanted the measure to be given up immediatelyDuring the debate BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi accused the Congress of appeasing Muslims and said there is a need for codification of Muslim personal laws in the countryThey Congress always did appeasement politics for which the country has paid for 30 years and today we have this chance If we lose this chance today we will not have another chance she saidCodification of Islamic law is needed in this country No one knows what is Sharia TalaqeBiddat No one knows the difference she addedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereCatch up on all the latest Mumbai National and International news hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go