Presidents nod to Triple Talaq Ordinance | 20 Sep 2018

President has promulgated the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance 2018, popularly known as Triple Talaq ordinance.

This ordinance makes Instant Triple Talaq or Talaq-e-biddat a cognizable offense.

In August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that Instant Triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat is unconstitutional and illegal in Shayara Bano vs. Union of India and Ors.
To enforce the Supreme Court ruling, the government brought The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017.
The bill was passed by Lok Sabha, but the bill remains pending in Rajya Sabha.
The ordinance gives effect to amended version of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 as presented in Rajya Sabha by the government.

Any pronouncement of Talaq by a Muslim husband upon his wife in any manner, written, spoken or electronic, will be illegal.
Any husband who pronounces triple talaq can be punished by a jail term up to three years and will also be liable for fine.
Muslim women will now be entitled to custody of her minor children.
Muslim women are now entitled to receive maintenance for herself and her dependent children upon whom talaq is pronounced.
Triple talaq is now a cognizable offense if the case is filed by married Muslim women or any person related to her by blood or marriage.
The offense will be compoundable, i.e. there can be a compromise but only on the insistence of the wife and magistrate will determine the terms and conditions.
The offender can be granted bail by a magistrate but only after hearing the victim wife and magistrate is satisfied that there is reasonable ground for bail.

In the practice of talaq-e-biddat, when a man pronounces talaq thrice in a sitting, or through phone, or writes in a talaq-nama or a text message, the divorce is considered immediate and irrevocable, even if the man later wishes to re-conciliate. However, Women cannot pronounce triple talaq and are required to move a court for getting the divorce under the Sharia Act, 1937.
There are three forms of talaq (divorce) in Islam: Ahsan, Hasan, and Talaq-e-Biddat (triple or instant talaq). Ahsan and Hasan are revocable but talaq-e-Biddat is irrevocable.
Triple talaq is a practice mainly prevalent among India’s Muslim community following the Hanafi Islamic school of law.
Triple talaq divorce is banned by many Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, UAE, and Indonesia.