Government to present triple talaq bill in Lok Sabha today

NEW DELHI: The government plans to introduce the bill to criminalise triple talaq or instant divorce among Muslims in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid several opposition parties, including Congress, Left and BJD, and various Muslim organisations expressing reservations over the proposed jail term for violators.
The government is determined to press ahead with the bill in the Lok Sabha where it has a strong majority even though some opposition parties have demanded that the proposed law be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee in view of the objections raised by several quarters over criminalisation of triple talaq .
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill will be introduced by law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and while it is not to be taken up for immediate discussion, the government is prepared for a short round of comments and is ready to put forward its justification for the proposed law.
Congress and Left leaders have said that criminalisation and a jail sentence may be excessive while some Muslim organisations have held that the Supreme Court ruling striking down triple talaq as unconstitutional is against Sharia law. A section of activists have argued that marriage is a civil contract and should not involve criminal proceedings.
The government side has argued that violations or offences such as bigamy and polygamy as well as other aspects of marriage such as dowry and domestic violence attract criminal proceedings. The law against instant triple talaq must have deterrent value and milder punishments like fines will not do.
The rationale for the government in bringing forward the bill to criminalise triple talaq follows instances of the practice being reported even after the Supreme Court's ruling and the open declaration by a section of clerics and conservative outfits rejecting the order.