Talaq-e-biddat is a source of severe oppression and injustice for Muslim women. This practice leads to the unilateral failure of a marriage at the whim of the husband. The legal trend has developed against this practice since the courts have repeatedly declared it unacceptable with certain restrictions. In Shayara Bano v. Union of India, the Supreme Court eventually struck down this practice. Subsequently, in 2017, Parliament introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of the Right to Marriage) Act, which declared the practice null and illegal. The bill also makes the practice a recognizable non-bailable offence and provides for a three-year prison sentence. The authors take a critical look at the bill and conclude that criminalizing a private act would have a negative impact on the institution of marriage. Although the law may prohibit triple talaq, it seems highly unlikely that it will effectively achieve its goal of simultaneously protecting the rights of married Muslim women. The authors propose an alternative system that would achieve the objective of the bill while overcoming its limitations.
Law and Society: Public Law – Crime, Criminal Law and Punishment eJournal. National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal, students; National University of Law, Delhi, Students Subscribe to this paid newspaper for more curated articles on the topic.