President Ram Nath Kovind has signed the triple talaq bill passed by Parliament, making instant divorce among Muslims a punishable offence, according to a government gazette notification published on Wednesday. The new law replaces an ordinance to the same effect issued on February 21 this year. What the law says The new law, formally the 2019 Act on Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), declares talaq-e-biddat, and any similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim husband that ends a marriage instantly and irrevocably, to be void and illegal.Read More

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the question on the minds of women and girls across Uttar Pradesh is whether their complaints against a powerful wrongdoer will be heard. Her remark, in a tweet in Hindi, came amid widespread anger over the car crash involving the Unnao rape survivor. “If some resourceful person does anything wrong then will our voices against him be heard,” she wrote. A student’s question in Barabanki In Barabanki on Wednesday, a senior police officer was left in an awkward position when a schoolgirl askedRead More

The Unnao rape case and a heavy legislative agenda were set to dominate the day in Parliament. In the Lok Sabha, the Congress described the Unnao case as a symbol of the failure of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while several bills were listed for consideration and passage in both Houses. Bills listed In the Rajya Sabha, the government planned to move: the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill; the bill amending the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA); the Repealing and Amending Bill. The UAPA bill came up as OppositionRead More

Buoyed by getting the Triple Talaq Bill through the Upper House, the government may now seek Rajya Sabha approval for a 2019 bill amending the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial law, a move the Congress opposes. The bill, already introduced in the Lok Sabha, would end the Congress president’s nomination as one of the trustees of the memorial. What the bill changes Under the 1951 Act that the government wants to amend, the memorial’s trust is made up of: the Prime Minister; the president of the Indian National Congress; the LeaderRead More

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday that households in the capital using less than 200 units of electricity a month would not have to pay for it. The announcement was widely seen as a pre-election offer to voters. What was announced Consumers using less than 200 units a month will get free electricity. Those using between 201 and 400 units will receive a 50 per cent subsidy from the Delhi government. At a press conference, Kejriwal said Delhi already had the lowest electricity prices in the country andRead More