New Delhi,Dec.27: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the bill which makes the practice of instant triple talaq a penal offence, amid walkout by the opposition parties.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lower House with 245 voting in favour and 11 opposing the legislation.
The Congress, the AIADMK, the Samajwadi Party, which had been demanding that the bill be referred to a ‘joint select committee’, staged a walkout before the voting began.
Similarly, Odisha’s ruling BJD also staged a walkout during passage of triple talaq bill after amendment proposal brought by party MP Bhartruhari Mahtab was not accepted.
The bill, which will now go to the Rajya Sabha, proposes that instant Triple Talaq will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.
It also has a provision that only empowers a magistrate and not a local police officer to release the husband on bail. The proposed law would be applicable to the entire country, except in Jammu and Kashmir.
Prasanta Patnaik