NEW DELHI / AMN
The government is considering bringing a legislation in the winter session of Parliament to put an end to instantaneous triple talaq, a Muslim way of divorce which is still in practice despite the Supreme Court striking it down.
Quoting official sources, an agency reports that a ministerial committee has been set up to propose a suitable legislation or amend existing penal provisions, which would make instantaneous triple talaq an offence.
In August, the Supreme Court struck down the controversial practice of instant divorce or ‘talaq-e-biddat’ as arbitrary and unconstitutional.
Talaq-e-biddat involves Muslim men divorcing their wives by mentioning the word ‘talaq (divorce)’ three times in one go, sometimes over email, WhatsApp messages or letters. In August, the top court had struck down the custom as arbitrary and unconstitutional in a verdict that was hailed as a watershed moment for gender justice in India.
But in the next few months, several complaints of instant triple talaq poured in from across the country with Muslim women saying they were divorced through the custom despite the SC order. “Even police are helpless as no action can be taken against the husband in the absence of punitive provisions in the law,” the sources said. The government’s proposed move could help plug that loophole.