Amid Protests, Triple Talaq Bill Passed

Congress and AIADMK call for deliberation by select committee, stage a walkout before the voting

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, after a heated debate. The Opposition Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout before the voting.

The two parties, through their floor leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge and P. Venugopal, had earlier opposed the Bill during the debate and asked that it be referred to a Joint Select Committee for consideration rather than be debated and passed.

However, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked members to pass the Bill, citing humanitarian consideration for Muslim women suffering under triple talaq.

Replaces ordinance

The Bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 to replace an ordinance issued in September. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the man. The fresh Bill is proposed to supersede an earlier Bill passed in the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha.