President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Triple Talaq bill today, August 01, 2019. This makes the practice of giving instant oral divorce a criminal offence with provisions of jail for a term of up to three years.

Triple Talaq, also known as talaq-e-biddat, instant divorce and talaq-e-mughallazah(irrevocable divorce),  is a form of Islamic divorce which has been used by Muslims in India.

To bring justice for Muslim women and to provide protection on marriage rights, the Modi leds government was promoting the bill from a long time.

The triple talaq bill has been a bone of contention between the Modi government and the Opposition since December 2017, when the government first presented the bill in the council of the Lok Sabha. Triple talaq was the subject of controversy and debate for a long time.

The government had promulgated an ordinance on triple talaq twice before -- September 2018 and February 2019. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but remained pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The bill is drawn by a group led by Union minister Rajnath Singh. It was presented in the Lok Sabha by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 26, 2019. While the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week in the middle of the walkout by several opposition parties.

Earlier on August 22, 2017, the Supreme Court had declared the practice of giving instant triple talaq unconstitutional. A divorce pronounced by uttering talaq three times in one sitting is void and illegal. The BJP-led government has sided with the petitioners, saying it is "unconstitutional, discriminatory, and derogatory".

After many failed attempts to clear the final hurdle, the triple talaq bill passed in Rajya Sabha with 99 to 84 votes. 

About the Triple Talaq Bill

According to the triple talaq bill, it is illegal to pronounce talaq three times in spoken, written, through SMS or WhatsApp or any other mode.

The Triple Talaq law or the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights On Marriage) Act, 2019, has come into effect retrospectively from September 19, 2018.

Provision of the Triple Talaq Bill

- The bill proposes a provision under which any pronouncement of talaq by a Muslim Husband upon his wife, by words; either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal.

- A woman can approach a magistrate for "subsistence allowance" not only for herself but also for her minor child. On the issue of custody of the child, the magistrate has the right to take a call.

- In December 2018, a bill was passed which proposed a provision of three-year jail for Muslims taking divorce by saying 'talaq' thrice.


Many Muslim religion majority based countries have banned the practice of giving divorce pronounced by uttering talaq three times including the neighbouring country Pakistan and Bangladesh.