Cabinet clears triple talaq bill, 3 years jail for guilty husbands in proposed law

The Union cabinet on Friday cleared the triple talaq bill.

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Cabinet had approved a proposal to introduce the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, to make instant triple talaq void and illegal.

Under the proposed law, instant divorce will be a non-bailable offence with a punishment of three years jail for guilty husbands.

The draft was prepared by an inter-ministerial group headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The other members included External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and his junior in the ministry P P Chaudhary.

The proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat' and it would give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking "subsistence allowance" for herself and minor children.

In August, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the practice of triple talaq (instant divorce) was illegal. 

The top court had passed a six-month injunction against the practice, in which time it asked Parliament to legislate on it and bring in a law.  

The practice of triple talaq allows Muslim men to divorce their wives instantly by saying 'talaq' three consecutive times (either directly, via social media or even a text
message).

(With inputs from PTI)