President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday approved the triple talaq ordinance that makes the practice of instant triple talaq by Muslim men a penal offence.
The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday given its nod to re-issue the contentious ordinance.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley noted 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.
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 3 June 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.
The government has promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice.
Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband
A Bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September, 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December and was pending in the Rajya Sabha
Since the Bill could not get parliamentary approval, a fresh ordinance was issued.
(With PTI inputs)