NEW DELHI: The
Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to re-issue the contentious
Triple Talaq ordinance that makes the practice of instant triple talaq by
Muslim men a penal offence.
The Cabinet has given its nod to the triple talaq ordinance, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters in the Cabinet briefing, noting that it is among those ordinances and bills which had been passed by the Lok Sabha but could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha due to continuous protests by opposition parties.
Once signed by President
Ram Nath Kovind, the triple talaq
ordinance will come into force for the third time in less than one year.A bill on the ordinance making the practise of 'talaq-e-biddat' (instance divorce) void and an offence is pending in Rajya Sabha. The bill will lapse on June 3 with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha.
Opposition parties and some community leaders have claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife is legally untenable. The government has asserted that it provides justice and equality to Muslim women.
To a question about the need for a government to clear several ordinances, including the one on triple talaq, weeks ahead of the general election, Jaitley said discussions on these ordinances and bills had been “physically prevented” in Parliament.
“It (discussion) has not been prevented because numbers were against it... Indian democracy cannot be helpless. Extraordinary situations do call for such steps,” he said, adding that some ordinances, including one against inter-state ponzi scheme, are in a larger national interest. The government has promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice.