With the Congress strategically withdrawing from polarising public discourse around Muslim personal laws, the passage of a legislation introduced in Parliament on Thursday to criminalise triple talaq — the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill — is a certainty.
The proposed law will only be applicable on instant triple talaq or talaq-e-bidat , and gives power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking “subsistence allowance” for herself and minor children. The woman can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue.
Under the law, instant triple talaq in any form — spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp — will be bad or illegal and void. The proposed law, which will be applicable to the entire country except Jammu and Kashmir, lays down that giving instant talaq will attract a jail term of three years and a fine for the husband. It will be a non-bailable offence.
Asserting that it was a “historic day”, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Bill in Parliament. Earlier, addressing a weekly meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the need for building a consensus on the Bill. “The Prime Minister today called for a consensus in the passage of the Bill on making instant triple talaq a punishable offence,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar. Briefing reporters on the proceedings of the meeting, Kumar said the Bill seeks to provide gender justice, respect and security for Muslim women. Prasad briefed BJP members on the various aspects and provisions of the draft law.
While the Bill is being opposed by other parties in the Opposition, especially the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-e-Muslimeen (AIMIM), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the All-India Muslim League, the Congress has refused to take a position against the Bill because the party apparently does not want to be seen siding with the conservatives among Muslims.
Although a nuanced take on the Bill, articulated by former Union Minister Salman Khurshid, is still being offered from the Congress’ side, the clarity on the party’s official position was offered by official spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala. He said that not only does the Congress support the Bill, it is in favour of making it even more stringent so as to facilitate delivery of justice to Muslim women.
“The Congress was the first political party to welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to ban the practice of instant triple talaq and say that this is a right step towards protection of women’s rights. The party will support the Bill to ban the practice. We are, in fact, of the view that there is a need to strengthen the Bill, and will offer suggestions to this effect,” Surjewala said.
He said the section pertaining to subsistence allowance to be given to the divorced woman needs to be further clarified and strengthened.
“The law gives maintenance to the divorced woman. We would like a clarification on whether the subsistence allowance being provided for in the Bill is over and above the maintenance that is already given to the woman. Secondly, we would like the onus of proving whether triple talaq is given, to not be on the women; it should be on the man. Thirdly, ...we want to know when the husband is in jail, where will the woman get her maintenance and subsistence from. The government needs to clarify this point and make necessary provisions.”
‘Non-issue’Khurshid voiced an opinion that is held by a number of women’s rights activists, most notably Flavia Agnes who has argued that there is no need for a ban on instant triple talaq because there are enough landmark judgements to this effect already. In 2002, triple talaq was invalidated by the Supreme Court in the Shamim Ara case.Khurshid argued the same position, saying: “This is a complete non-issue. Instant triple talaq has been held to be non-existent and void. If someone says ‘triple talaq’, it has no legal validity and no legal consequences. The Supreme Court has already held that there is no such thing as triple talaq.”
But the Congress felt the party should not speak through nuances and come out clearly in favour of the Bill.