LIVE HIGHLIGHTS: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the triple talaq bill and all amendments to it were defeated. The bill now goes to Rajya Sabha. Speaking on behalf of the government, MoS MJ Akbar called into question the credibility of All India Muslim Personal Law Board for opposing the move. He asked 'who made them community representatives?' Earlier, BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi called for a law against maulvis who oversee instant triple talaq. She said talaq-e-biddat has nothing to do with religion. She further said women are the biggest minority in this country and this is why they have been oppressed in the society. Earlier, speaking in the Lok sabha Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the legislation meant to ensure gender justice to women is affected by instant divorce. The Congress has sought the bill to be sent to the Standing Committee, while few other opposition parties like the AIMIM and Biju Janata Dal have called the legislation an "injustice to Muslim women". The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Bill 2017 makes instant triple talaq a non-bailable warrant with imprisonment of up to three years in jail.



Stay tuned as Ashish Yechury brings you LIVE updates:

Dec 28, 2017 9:08 pm (IST) congratulate PM Shri Narendra Modi and the entire government for successfully passing the Triple Talaq Bill - The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, in Lok Sabha and bringing the practice of Triple Talaq within the ambit of criminal offence: Amit Shah, BJP president

Dec 28, 2017 8:30 pm (IST) Supreme Court banned triple talaq because it believed that a couple should get time for reconciliation. With this bill, it will be now a non-bailable offence, there will be no chance of reconciliation.I moved an amendment over compensation for Muslim women in cases of triple talaq. it was negated by the government: Sushmita Dev, Congress

Dec 28, 2017 8:23 pm (IST) Shameful display of brute force passing the Triple Talaq Bill turning Muslim husbands into criminals, this is not what we fought for in the Supreme Court of India: Indira Jaising, senior Supreme Court Lawyer

Dec 28, 2017 8:06 pm (IST) The bill was passed after the House rejected a string of amendments moved by various opposition members. MPs from the RJD, AIMIM, BJD, AIADMK and All India Muslim League opposed the bill, calling it arbitrary in nature and a faulty proposal.

Dec 28, 2017 8:03 pm (IST) Under the law, instant triple talaq in any form --spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp -- would be illegal and void. The bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha for passage before it is forwarded to the President for signing it into law.

Dec 28, 2017 8:02 pm (IST) The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat'. It gives power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking "subsistence allowance" for herself and minor children. A victim can also seek the custody of her minor children from the magistrate.

Dec 28, 2017 7:36 pm (IST) Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage) Bill, 2017 has been passed in the Lok Sabha. All amendments to the bill have been rejected. the Bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha for their approval.

Dec 28, 2017 7:15 pm (IST) Speaker of the House Sumitra Mahajan is holding a vote on clause by clause proposed amendments to the triple talaq bill by voice vote.

Dec 28, 2017 7:06 pm (IST) We are not looking at this from the lens of politics but from the lens of humanity. The jail term is upto three years and quantum of punishment will be decided by the magistrate and we have left it for the court to decide and its conscience. It is being said that we are breaking families, but when women were being abandoned, this argument found no place. Under Section 304B, if you try to burn a bride, then you will be imprisoned: Prasad.

Dec 28, 2017 7:04 pm (IST) This law has not been passed for any political mileage. People are questioning that why is this law a criminal law. To that, I will say I have not studied law from London but from Patna Law College: Prasad

Dec 28, 2017 7:01 pm (IST) They argued that since Supreme Court invalidated triple talaq, then why the law. i have taken into consideration the SC majority judgment of the triple talaq verdict. Should the muslim women frame and hang the SC verdict in their homes now?: Prasad

Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm (IST) Today we saw a big thing that the level of debate has been fantastic. I am thankful to Meenakshi lekhi, Sushmita dev for their comments. The stand by congress is perplexing and very conditional. one they say that we hurried but the important point is being ignored. The muslim women approached the court thinking that Modi government will support it and we did: Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Dec 28, 2017 6:57 pm (IST) The government had argued in the court that all talaqs must be abolished. By this law, they are trying to do away with our personal laws. The law minster who is the drafter has failed to distinguish between civil law and criminal law. In Section 3, the law minister accepts that triple talaq will be void, then how can you punish him? Something which is void cannot be punished as it has no legal force. The law minister quotes Pakistan, but the Section 61 of Paksitan law has been stayed by the supreme court of Pakistan. No muslim country has a penal provision: Owaisi

Dec 28, 2017 6:56 pm (IST) My primary objection is two-fold: Parliament lacks legislative competence, bill lacks legislative coherence. It violates Article 15. Triple Talaq has been declared null and void already. It lacks rational nexus as sections under IPC exists, says Owaisi. He cites the EP Royappa case to argue that the bill is constitutionally not valid. This bill will be injustice to Muslim women, he adds.

Dec 28, 2017 6:51 pm (IST) Every hour, three women are raped and five are assaulted. Society needs to be reformed. The minister has brought a bad law. If a Muslim man says triple talaq, then how is it valid when the court has done away with it? This law will give handle to Muslim men to further subjugate women. They want to achieve their dream of putting Muslims behind the bars. Instead, create a corpus of 1000 crore for Muslim women: AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi

Dec 28, 2017 6:16 pm (IST) The Lok Sabha session has been extended till the triple talaq bill is passed. The session was supposed to end at 6 pm. However, when chair decided to hold a vote by the show of hand whether or not to extend the session, majority of the MPs voted to continue.

Dec 28, 2017 6:11 pm (IST) We don’t claim that all evils be remedied with this bill, but there is a dictum “never leave the good in search of the ideal.” We will be on the path to gender progression through this bill All laws must be compliant with fundamental rights. I know someone will say tomorrow that I am saying nonsense, but I don’t care. Let Allah decide. In the name of talaq, lakhs are forcing woman to live in an atmosphere of fear. This atmosphere of fear will end with this law. And when this ends, there will be a new life in this country: MJ Akbar

Dec 28, 2017 6:06 pm (IST) Surah 2 Verse 41 – for a divorced woman, maintenance must be given on a reasonable scale.Hazrat Ali was not the person to have accepted Islam after Muhammad, it was his wife Begum Khadija who was 15 years elder to Muhammad. Triple talaq is against the spirit of the Quran. Where have we reached today?: MJ Akbar

Dec 28, 2017 6:00 pm (IST) Surah 24 Verse 5, those who make false allegation against a woman will not be spared. And woman will have rights similar to rights equal to that of the men. You cannot make a law against a woman – 226 and 228 of the Quran. Islam has a contract of marriage, this triple talaq violates the contract: MJ Akbar

Dec 28, 2017 5:51 pm (IST) What is the credibility of All India Muslim Personal Law Board? Who chose them to be community representatives? This slogan 'Islam khatre mein hai' was used before independence to divide India and is now being used to divide society, poison is being spread. You change law easily when it comes to men but you remember Allah when it comes to women?: Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar

Dec 28, 2017 4:15 pm (IST) Attacking the Congress for opposing the law, Meenakshi Lekhi cited the Shah Bano case to accuse the party of practicing appeasement politics.

Dec 28, 2017 4:09 pm (IST) Talaq-e-biddat has nothing to do with religion. It is customary. There should be a law for maulavis witnessing this kind of talaq: Meenakshi Lekhi

Dec 28, 2017 4:02 pm (IST) Women are the biggest minority in this country. This is why they have been oppressed in the way they have. It is high time we do away practices that oppress women. Those opposing the law against triple talaq are speaking language of personal law: Meenakshi Lekhi

Dec 28, 2017 3:42 pm (IST) "When the Supreme Court judgment came, we welcomed it. Today, the Law Minister has brought the triple talaq bill which takes a civil issue like divorce and turns it into a criminal law. The government says it will act as a deterrent. The bill talks about right to subsistence allowance, how will the government ensure she gets it? We are asking these questions since Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad disagreed to a standing committee," says Congress' Sushmita Dev.

Dec 28, 2017 3:29 pm (IST) The triple talaq bill should not be seen through the prism of politics and neither should be linked with any religious motive or vote-bank politics, says Ravi Shankar Prasad in Lok Sabha: #BREAKING -- This bill should not be seen through the prism of politics and neither should be linked with any religious motive or vote bank politics: @rsprasad on #TripleTalaqBill in LS pic.twitter.com/JDGk7PFK3v — News18 (@CNNnews18) December 28, 2017

Dec 28, 2017 3:25 pm (IST) After Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's emotional plea, Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge says, "Send the bill to the standing committee. All party people will be present there. Give some time, an elaborate consultation of the bill needs to take place. All of us are supporting this bill, but there are certain lacunae which should and can be rectified in the standing committee, we can sit together and sort out in a time bound manner."