Triple talaq bill to be tabled in Lok Sabha tomorrow

In the 16th Lok Sabha, the bill was passed after four hours of debate. However, the bill did not get through the Rajya Sabha as BJP and its allies did not have a majority in the Upper House and the Opposition had disrupted proceedings over the Rafale deal. The bill had, therefore, lapsed.

While the triple talaq bill may have smooth sailing in the Lok Sabha this time also, getting numbers in the Rajya Sabha for the NDA government may be slightly complicated.

Numbers in the Upper House are delicately poised – NDA, minus JD(U) and with the support of BJD, Independents and others, stands at 109 while the Opposition number stands at 108.

The fate of the Bill will hinge on what position three fence-sitter parties take — JD(U) and TRS, with six seats each, and YSR Congress with two. In the 241-member Upper House, BJP has 78 members and the NDA has 115, while the Congress-led Opposition has 107 votes. Without AIADMK and JD(U), NDA’s strength will come down to below 100.

In its last term, the Modi government had brought three ordinances to penalise the practice of triple talaq with imprisonment up to three years. The first ordinance was brought after the Monsoon Session in 2018. A second ordinance was issued after the Winter Session, and the third was announced by the last Cabinet on February 19, just weeks ahead of the general elections.

The bill, which proposes to make the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, had faced objections from the Opposition parties during the Budget session in February too. They had claimed that jail term for a man divorcing his wife was legally untenable.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he was opposed to the provision considering a civil offence as a criminal offence. He suggested the scope of the Bill should be extended to women of all communities.