Wishesh magazine january 2018 Wishesh magazine january 2018 | Page 12

CURRENT AFFAIRS
Lok Sabha Passes Triple Talaq Bill:
In a historic but politically contentious move, the Modi government used its big majority in the Lok
Sabha to pass a bill criminalizing triple talaq among Muslims even as sections of the opposition
demanded changes in the proposed law and a small minority rejected the legislation. Though no
opposition party demanded a vote in the Lok Sabha due to NDA numbers as well as reluctance to
openly oppose the proposed law, the government is bracing for a tougher numbers game in the
Rajya Sabha where it lacks a majority and the opposition could insist on vetting by a parliamentary
panel.
The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill amid a demand
from the opposition that the “criminalisation” clause be scrutinized by a parliamentary panel and
law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s vociferous defence that the House needed to choose between
procedures and the cries of justice from Muslim women.
Rejecting the opposition’s objections on grounds such as criminal procedure being uncalled for in
a civil contract like marriage, Prasad said the Dowry Prohibition Act, child marriage laws and the
adultery law were all linked to marriage but invited criminal action. The same should be the case
with triple talaq in the light of the Supreme Court ruling it unconstitutional and judges on the bench
calling for legislative action, he added.
“As far as maintenance is concerned, it will be at the discretion of the magistrate. An accused will
not get bail from the police station but can seek bail in a magistrate’s court,” Prasad clarified.
Though Congress functionaries have expressed reservations over criminalisation of triple talaq
with the law providing for three-year imprisonment, the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun
Kharge, said the party supported the proposed law. The party’s stance in the Rajya Sabha will be
crucial to whether the bill becomes law or is referred to a parliamentary panel, a process that can
consume several months.