The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019

Its been three years since the landmark judgment (Shayara Bano v. Union of India) holding Triple Talaq unconstitutional was passed by the Supreme Court. Triple Talaq was a form of practice which the men used to divorce their wives verbally by saying the word Talaq three times. The reason for holding this unconstitutional was a violation of fundamental rights under Muslim Law and also the basic principles of the Quran. 

After this judgment, a bill called The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 was introduced by the Indian Government. The bill was proposed to make triple talaq illegal and void. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha but delayed by the Rajya Sabha. In July 2019 the bill was reintroduced and passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and then received the assent of the President of India. The Bill was deemed to come into effect retrospectively on 19th September 2018. 

The following are the key provisions of the Act:

1. Section 3- Triple talaq is illegal and void.

2. Section 4- If a Muslim man divorces his wife as per Section 3 then he will be imprisoned for a term which may extend to 3 years and also be liable for a fine.

3. Section 5- A Muslim woman who is divorced as per Section 3 will be entitled to a subsistence allowance from her husband as determined by the Magistrate (Judicial Magistrate of the first class who has jurisdiction under Criminal Procedure Code, 1973).

4. Section 6- A Muslim woman will be entitled to custody of her minor children if she is divorced as per Section 3 in a manner determined by the Magistrate.

5. Section 7- The offence committed under this Act will be cognizable, compoundable (as determined by the Magistrate on the instance of the Muslim woman), and non-bailable. Bail may be granted by the Magistrate if the accused files an application and also if the Magistrate thinks that there are reasonable grounds to grant bail to the accused. 

However, a number of petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court in 2019 challenging this Act. The petition was filed by Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Sayyed Farooq, and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind stating that the Act is unconstitutional. The punishment for a Muslim man under this Act is said to be penal in nature making divorce a penal offence. Even some offences mentioned in the Indian Penal Code 1860 have fewer years of imprisonment than the number of years of imprisonment mentioned in this Act. The judgment on these petitions is still pending but we hope that the court will come to a better conclusion keeping in mind the best interests of Muslim women who suffer the brunt of the societal judgments due to triple talaq.