Muslim women celebrate the passage of Triple Talaq Bill

CHENNAI: So, now, triple talaq is a punishable criminal offence. The central law came into effect on Wednesday, with the Union ministry of law and justice notifying it after the Presidential assent.

From arrest and bail to custody of children, the law is heavily loaded in favour of Muslim women who ‘suffer’ talaq. There are at least four salient features in the law that a Muslim man or woman concerned should be aware of.

One : Since it is a cognizable offence carrying imprisonment up to three years, arrest of the man, who pronounces talaq, is imminent. In case he moves court for release on bail, the magistrate cannot take a decision after hearing merely the jurisdictional police .

Section 7(c) of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 clearly mentions that the magistrate should hear the ‘married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced.’ He shall grant bail only if he is satisfied that there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to grant the husband bail.

While in every IPC case the complainant has a right to participate in bail and trial proceedings as an intervener by filing a separate petition (besides the one filed by the investigating police), when it comes to in this talaq law, hearing the Muslim wife is a mandatory requirement for a court hearing the bail plea of the husband.

Two: The talaq offence is a compoundable one, which means the complainant-wife has powers under the law to drop her charges and let the husband go on her terms. Section 7(b) of the Act says the case could be closed at the instance of the wife. “An offence punishable under this Act shall be compoundable at the instance of the married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced,” the Act said. It, however, leaves the final decision to the magistrate who can lay down requisite terms and conditions.

Three: The Muslim woman is entitled to the custody of the minor children in the event of pronouncement of talaq by her husband, the Act says adding that she is entitled to claim subsistence allowance for her as well as her dependent children. The quantum, of course, will be decided by the court hearing the case. While she gets the automatic custody of minor children, she is entitled to claim subsistence allowance for all her ‘dependent children’, and not just the minor children alone.

Four: Perhaps to make things easy for the married Muslim woman who suffers talaq, the Act says the magistrate in the area where the woman lives will have jurisdiction to hear the case. In most matrimonial disputes, a court’s location often has big impact on the result, as women litigants would find it difficult to pursue the litigation if court is not in the vicinity of her residence.

