Cabinet approves Triple Talaq ordinance

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Triple Talaq ordinance, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Addressing media persons here, Jaitley said: "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the promulgation of an Ordinance, namely, the Muslim Women (Protection of Right on Marriage) Second Ordinance, 2019, as per Appendix-111 under the clause (1) of Article 123 of the Constitution."

The proposal moves necessary official amendments in the Muslim Women (Protection of Right on Marriage) Bill, 2018 pending in the Rajya Sabha to replace the aforesaid Ordinance with such modifications of drafting and consequential nature as may be necessary, he said. The proposed Ordinance will protect the rights of married Muslim women and prevent divorce by the practice of instantaneous and irrevocable--talaq-e-biddat' by their husbands. It will discourage the practice of triple talaq and provide the rights of subsistence allowance, custody of minor children to the victims of triple talaq.

The Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 27 last year with 245 votes in favour and 11 against the Bill. The opposition parties want the Bill to be sent to the Select Committee of Parliament for further vetting, a demand which was rejected by the Centre.However, an ordinance was re-promulgated in January this year as the revised Bill could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks a majority.The Bill criminalises the practice of instant triple talaq with a provision of three years imprisonment to the erring husband.The issue of triple talaq was taken up in the Parliament in August last year after a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled "unconstitutional" a practice that allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering "talaq" three times in quick succession.In a landmark 3-2 verdict, the Supreme Court found the practice un-Islamic and "arbitrary" and disagreed that triple talaq was an integral part of religious practice.