The amended Muslim Women (Protection of Right on Marriage) Bill is welcome. The Bill seeks to ban Triple Talaq. The Legislation passed in the Lok Sabha in December 2017 has been appreciably watered down. The criminality provision has now been dealt with. Only an FIR filed by the victim can now be accepted. That means the wife, blood relations or relatives by marriage. If husband and wife agree to settle differences, the magistrate can compound the offence. This change is welcome in a society where Muslim women often receive step motherly treatment. The magistrate according to the new amendments can grant bail to the accused. The Government emphasised the need to bring in facets of women’s empowerment in the Bill. What is imperative is to ensure gender justice. But the Bill should not be regarded as an instrument for imposing the views of the majority community. The Government has to allay such misconceptions. Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad made it clear in Parliament that the Government will see to it that the Law is not misused in the name of justice.
The amendments should overcome the criticisms of the opposition which should not think that their business is just to oppose. It has not yet been indicated if the objections of the Opposition, especially to the criminality clause have now been suitably addressed. There was no time for debate in the Lok Sabha. Regrettably the Bill has been hanging fire since December 2017 and will now have to wait until the winter session of Parliament to be passed by the Rajya Sabha. This time the Union Cabinet approved three crucial amendments to the Bill, including a provision for bail to an accused before the start of the trial. This was one of the three demands put forth by the Congress to support the Bill. The other two demands are allowing a close relative of the victim to file a case on her behalf and to allow a magistrate to settle disputes between the couple, which the government has refused to incorporate in the Bill.
The Bill was prepared by an inter-ministerial group headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. It makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat in any form – spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp – “illegal and void.” As per the provisions of the Bill, the husband could also be fined and the quantum of fine would be decided by the magistrate hearing the case. The Bill was introduced again this time as the practice continued despite the Supreme Court striking down ‘talaq-e- biddat’.
The Bill is a step towards social uplift and should not be politicised.