A woman from Bareilly has been given triple talaq after she was unable to pay her husband Rs 50,000 in cash. The incident comes a week after the Lok Sabha passed the triple talaq bill criminilising the act.
The woman, identified as Tarannum, alleged that she was physically and mentally tortured by her husband for not being able to pay the amount.
Her father, who was with her while addressing the media, added that the husband also added that no law existed that could cause him harm.
On December 28, the Lok Sabha passed a Bill that proposes to make instant triple talaq a non-bailable offence with a three-year jail term for guilty husbands, a move that was hailed as “historic” by the Narendra Modi government. The Opposition Congress also welcomed the passage and called it the first step towards protection of Muslim women’s rights.
However, while being tabelled in the Raya Sabha, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma moved the notice stating that Triple Talaq Bill be referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. Sharma also proposed names of committee members.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, however, defended the bill saying it did not need to be passed through a committee.
“Reason why it should not be referred (to select committee) is that when the practice was declared unconstitutional, 2 of the judges held it as unfair and used their extraordinary power to suspend it for 6 months, which expire on 22 February. Judges said, ‘we are now suspending it for 6 months and we beseech all parties, therefore within this period come out with apt legislation.’ So, there is an urgency that country expects from Parliament. Legislature must act with sense of responsibility.’