Triple talaq law will affect social cohesion, says Owaisi

Hyderabad, Dec 15 (IANS) MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has opposed the bill seeking to criminalise instant triple talaq, saying this would have severe consequences on rule of law and social cohesion in the country.

In a letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, he voiced concern over the attempt to table the bill in Parliament without consultation.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, which cleared by the cabinet on Friday, provides for a three-year jail term for triple talaq.

Owaisi demanded that the government hold consultation with All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on the bill as it was the main party in the batch of writ petitions filed in the Supreme Court on triple talaq.

He said that the government's attempt to expedite introduction of the bill without any effort to appreciate the legal nuances involved is of deep concern.

The Hyderabad MP described it as an attempt to demonise the Muslim community in the garb of "saving" and "protecting" Muslim women.

"It is regrettable that a constitutional value as important as gender justice is being used to merely further cynical political goals," he wrote.

Owaisi said it was absurd that a special law was being considered when existing legislation sufficiently provide appropriate remedies to Muslim women who are at receiving end of triple talaq.

Along with his letter, he also attached a memorandum about legal and policy implications of criminalising triple talaq.