Yes to equality and dignity: Lok Sabha passes Triple Talaq Bill after Cong, AIADMK stage walkout

The Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst a chorus of protests from the entire Opposition, most of who wanted the government to send the bill to a Joint Select Committee. While the bill garnered 245 votes in its favour, 11 MPs voted against it; the Congress and NDA constituent AIADMK walked out before the voting began.

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, in the Lok Sabha amidst protests from AIADMK MPs who trooped into the Well of the house. Prasad said that the bill was not against any community and that the government was bringing it "with an open mind".

He said that the new bill, which was introduced after the Opposition pointed at several infirmities in the last bill, sought to address those concerns. After the last bill was passed in the Lok Sabha the last session, it was withdrawn after Rajya Sabha MPs opposed it on several grounds. Among them were the lack of provisions on compromise, on bail and a provision which said that neighbours, too, can place complaints. The government later brought in an ordinance.

If the government does not manage to pass the bill in the Parliament, it will lapse this session.

Prasad added that 477 cases of triple talaq were reported last year.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said that the bill was the government's interference in religion and the personal laws of the Muslim community. He said that the government should send the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Select Committee for 15 days or a month before debating it in the House. "It is important to send it to the Committee because it will affect the lives of 30 crore women," said Kharge.

The Opposition's primary argument is that the bill should do away with the criminalisation of triple talaq.

The bill faced opposition from AIADMK MPs as well. MP AA Raajhaa called it an 'unconstitutional' bill. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that while a large portion of the bill was welcome for the rights of Muslim women, the criminalisation has led to a consensus among Opposition MPs to send it to a JPC.

Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that the law minister quoted the minority judgement, which suggested that the Parliament should decide on the matter. "The law minister is giving Shayara Bano nothing but a criminal case, and bare sustenance while the 1985 Shah Bano judgment provides more. This is not about the empowerment of Muslim women, but the penalising of Muslim men," said Dev.

Replying to her, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said that this was not a matter of 'he vs she', but an issue of human rights violation. She said that between January 2017 and September 2018, 430 cases of triple talaq were recorded, with UP recording the highest number at 120 cases.

Union minorities minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that most Islamic states have abolished the practice decades back. Union textiles minister Smriti Irani said that the bill gives equality to all and will ensure justice for all women.
MP from NDA constituent Shiv Sena Arvind Ganpat Sawant said that the government's 'prevention is better than cure' argument is flawed and that the government should bring an ordinance on Ram Mandir issue instead.

What This Means

• The Triple Talaq Bill makes instant divorce a cognisable offence giving police the right to arrest the accused without a warrant on a complaint filed by any person, not necessarily the affected woman
• This means any person can initiate criminal proceedings against a Muslim man, who pronounces instant triple talaq on his wife
• Police can initiate a probe in such matters only after an FIR has been registered but without waiting for an order from the magistrate, according to the Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code

In The Making

• Oct 16, 2015:  SC bench asks CJI to set up a bench to examine if Muslim women face discrimination in divorce
• Dec 8, 2016: Allahabad High Court pronounces a judgment, questioning the constitutionality of triple talaq
• April 11, 2017: Centre informs the SC that practices of triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy are patriarchal and traditional which must be struck down
• Aug 22, 2017: A SC bench bars the controversial triple talaq practice, asking the Centre to bring legislation. It puts a six-month stay on the practice
• Dec 15, 2017: The Union Cabinet approves the bill, outlawing instant triple talaq by making it a non-bailable offence
• Sept 19, 2018:  After failing to secure Opposition support in the Rajya Sabha, the Centre makes instant triple talaq a crime

— DNA-Research N Archives