Centre gives up on Triple Talaq bill

What to know?

• The government has effectively given up on at least two of its more controversial legislations — the Citizenship Amendment Bill and the Triple Talaq Bill — that were awaiting consideration by the Rajya Sabha, after opposition parties made clear that they could not guarantee smooth functioning of the House if any contentious bills were tabled.
• With the numbers stacked against the government on both the contentious issues in the Upper House, the two bills, which had been cleared by the Lok Sabha in the last session, would now lapse once the 16th Lok Sabha’s term ends.
• The decision on the bills to be tabled in the Upper House was taken at a meeting chaired by Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu that included government representatives and leaders of all the opposition parties.
• The meeting saw Mr. Naidu make an appeal that since it was the last session before the general elections, a sincere effort ought to be made by all to ensure proper functioning of the House in order to send out the right message..
• The Rajya Sabha will now take up only six legislative proposals including one to replace an ordinance during the session. The bills that are slated to be debated include The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to replace an ordinance, The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018, The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019, The PersonalLaws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and The Aadhaar and other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

What was triple talaq bill?

• The case dates back to 2016 when the Supreme Court had sought assistance from the then Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of “triple talaq”, “nikah halala” and “polygamy”, to assess whether Muslim women face gender discrimination in cases of divorce.
• Opposing the practice of triple talaq, the Centre told the top court that there is a need to re-look at these practices on grounds of gender equality and secularism.
• The Supreme Court later announced the setting up of a five-judge constitutional bench to hear and deliberate on the challenges against the practice of ‘triple talaq, nikah halala’ and polygamy.
• The issue gained political momentum on March 2017 when the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court that the issue of triple talaq falls outside the judiciary’s realm and that these issues should not be touched by the court.
• However, on August 22 this year, the Supreme Court set aside the decade-old practice of instant triple talaq saying it was violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
• In September, the government had proposed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Billin the Parliament and sought to make triple talaq a punishable offence under the law.
• At first, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but it failed to secure a majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was postponed till the winter session of Parliament. Following this, an ordinance was issued by the governmentafter the bill failed to get cleared in Rajya Sabha amid protests by the Opposition.

Key provisions of the Bill:

• The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void (i.e. not enforceable in law) and illegal.
• Definition:It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim man resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce.  Talaq-e-biddat refers to the practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of the word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by a Muslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce.
• Offence and penalty:The Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognizable offence, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment with a fine.  (A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without warrant.)  The offence will be cognizable only if information relating to the offence is given by: (i) the married woman (against whom talaq has been declared), or (ii) any person related to her by blood or marriage.
• The Bill provides that the Magistrate may grant bail to the accused. The bail may be granted only after hearing the woman (against whom talaq has been pronounced), and if the Magistrate is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for granting bail.
• The offence may be compounded by the Magistrate upon the request of the woman (against whom talaq has been declared). Compounding refers to the procedure where the two sides agree to stop legal proceedings, and settle the dispute.  The terms and conditions of the compounding of the offence will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Allowance:A Muslim woman against whom talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children.  The amount of the allowance will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Custody:A Muslim woman against whom such talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek custody of her minor children. The manner of custody will be determined by the Magistrate.  

Significance:

• Time has come to put an end to the suffering of Muslim women who have been at the receiving end of instant talaq for several years. More than 20 Islamic countries have already banned the practice.

(National, polity)(The hindu)

Pic courtesy:New18.com