Ordinance passed, Triple talaq to be a criminal offence; President's Nod Awaited

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Ordinance passed, Triple talaq to be a criminal offence; President's Nod Awaited
Ordinance passed, Triple talaq to be a criminal offence; President's Nod Awaited

New Delhi : Narendra Modi government on Wednesday cleared an ordinance to make triple talaq a criminal offence, said a report. This will now be sent to President for his approval, post which it will come into effect.

As per rules, the President has to sign his approval within a time period of six months from the date ordinance is passed. Failing to do this the ordinance has to be re-promulgated.

The government had failed to take up the Triple Talaq Bill for discussion in Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session and the Budget Session as the Congress-led opposition expressed reservations over the criminal provisions in the draft law.

In a press conference, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there was a “compelling necessity and an overpowering urgency” to approve the Ordinance. 

“I have said this before, the issue of triple talaq has nothing to do with faith, mode of worship or religion. It is a pure issue of gender justice, gender dignity and gender equality,” he added.

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Giving details about the ordinance, the Law Minister said that triple talaq would be recognised as a crime “only when a woman or her blood relative files a complaint with the police”.

“A compromise can be achieved only when the woman is willing and says so to a magistrate. A magistrate can grant bail only after the wife’s consent,” he added.

“Secondly, it’s compoundable, it can be compromised only at the insistence of the wife upon appropriate terms and conditions as determined by the magistrate. Thirdly, a bail can be granted by the magistrate upon reasonable grounds but only after hearing the victim wife also,” said Prasad.

Further detailing about the proposed Bill, Prasad said the victim wife will be entitled for the custody of the minor child and for a “maintenance suitably determined by the magistrate for herself and the child”.

The Supreme Court had in a verdict in August last year declared instant triple talaq illegal and unconstitutional. But since the practice was still prevalent, the court had asked the government to bring a law against the practice.

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