The government has decided not to table the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session, which ends on Friday and defer it to the next session.
On Thursday, the Cabinet proposed three changes in the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, 2017-first, only the victim, a blood relation or relation by marriage are allowed to lodge FIR in the case, second, the case can be dropped if husband and wife agree to settle their differences and third, a magistrate can grant bail to men found guilty of giving instant triple talaq to their wives. However, the offence still remains non-bailable.
If the amended bill is passed in the upper house, it will have to go back to Lok Sabha for approval of the amendments.
On December 29, the Lok Sabha passed the bill which seeks to make instant triple talaq a criminal offence, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government tabled it in the lower house.
The Bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
Triple talaq, or verbal divorce, is practiced by a section in the Muslim community to instantly divorce their wives by uttering 'talaq' three times.
Agencies
