New Delhi: Another Parliament session is drawing closer to its end, and yet again the passage of triple talaq bill looks difficult with not only a strong united Opposition insisting on a select committee referral but also Janata Dal United's stand to support the Opposition comes as a setback for Modi government.
JD-U Rajya Sabha MP and party’s Bihar unit chief Bashistha Narain Singh said that since "the matter is related to a big community," there should be "no hurry in bringing the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha.”
He said the government should have done more consultation with the stakeholders before rushing the Bill. Asked about his party’s stand, in case voting takes place in the Upper House, Singh has replied, “We will vote against the government.”
The opposition is demanding that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 be referred to a select committee of the House.
As the winter session of the Parliament is set to conclude on January 8, the opposition is in no mood to let the bill sail through the upper house.
On August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court struck down the practice of talaq-e-biddat and made it unlawful for a Muslim man to pronounce talaq three times in one sitting, and if he does so, it will not be recognised by the law.
As under Article 141, the marriage will continue to be legally valid. This judgment was also seen as a door of possibilities to challenge All Personal Laws that discriminate against women in the future.
However, the verdict did not list down guidelines for safeguarding women if the practice continued despite their verdict.
A minority of two judges put the onus on Parliament to formulate a law banning triple talaq. This led to an open ended question why did a Supreme Court verdict did not have the same weightage as a law passed by the parliament.
The debate which began in the Lok Sabha and led to the walking out of Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK and AIADMK has now reached the Rajya Sabha where it has been adjourned multiple times after debates turned ugly with the opposition.
The opposition and the ruling government has accused each other of using this bill as a tool to reap benefits in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
During the discussion on the Bill in Lok Sabha, the Opposition, and even the fence sitters such as the AIADMK and BJD, demanded that the Bill be referred to a joint committee.
The government did not yield to the demand and got the Bill passed after a four-hour debate. The government after its last attempt to get the bill passed in the monsoon session had promulgated an ordinance to give effect to the bill and it's provisions.
However, an ordinance lapses after six months and should have been passed as a law by Parliament. But since the Winter sessions ends on January 8 and a stalemate still existing over referring the Bill to a select committee, the government may choose to re-promulgate the ordinance till the elections are over.
Re-promulgation, however, has drawn the ire of the top court on earlier occasions with the court calling such re-promulgations a "fraud on the Constitution."
Since Muslim marriage is a civil contract between two adults, the procedure to be followed on its collapse should also be of a civil nature.
Opposition has stated that there is no rationale to criminalise the practice of talaq-e-biddat and imprison a Muslim man.
Another concern is that if this law is passed, it would criminalise the husband, who would be imprisoned. Being in jail, it would to unwanted separation between the couple, against the wishes of the wife, who perhaps wanted a reconciliation, not a divorce.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was receptive to any “constructive” suggestions by the Opposition on the Bill.
On why the government was not accepting the Opposition demand to refer the Bill to a select committee of Parliament for scrutiny, he said, "We will decide on the floor of the House when I speak there. We have already improved a lot of things. A select committee is important, but the plight of victim women is equally important. I would appeal to MPs to listen to their plight."
The passage looks all the more difficult in this session as for the first time, most of the opposition has join hands to stall it and with BJP not having numbers in the upper house, the opposition has geared up further.
Just before the bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha, at least 116 members from the 243 member house signed a resolution pledging to oppose the bill.
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