India has made the Islamic practice of "instant divorce" a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison.

The move means that any Muslim man who tries to end his marriage by saying "talaq" ("you are divorced" in Arabic) three times in succession now faces time behind bars.

The executive order issued by the Indian government on Wednesday brings an outright ban on "triple talaq" a step closer.

Muslim women say they have been divorced over messaging apps like WhatsApp or in letters, leaving them without any legal remedy.

India's lower house, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), passed legislation outlawing the practice in December.

But it got stuck in the upper house, prompting the government to issue Wednesday's executive order. It now needs only approval from the president to become law.

"There was a constitutional urgency to bring this law. The curse of triple talaq has continued unabated," Ravi Shankar Prasad, law and justice minister, told reporters.

In August 2017, India's Supreme Court declared "triple talaq" unconstitutional and ordered the government to legislate against it.

Prasad said that 201 cases have been reported across the country even after the top court's order.

The BJP has long pushed for a uniform civil code for marriage, divorce and property. India's constitution allows followers of each faith to use their religious laws to govern such matters.