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.

• Pronouncing talaq three times in one sitting is illegal whether it is spoken, written, or sent by SMS, WhatsApp or any other electronic chat.
• A husband who does so can be jailed for up to three years and is also liable to a fine.
• The offence is cognisable only if the complaint comes from the wife or a relative by blood or marriage, a safeguard against misuse.
• A magistrate may grant bail only after hearing the wife.
• The wife is entitled to seek maintenance for herself and her dependent children.

How it got through Parliament

The Rajya Sabha passed the bill by 99 votes to 84. The NDA, which does not have a majority in the Upper House, benefited from the absence of some Congress, SP and BSP members, six Telangana Rashtra Samithi members and two YSR Congress MPs. Last week the Lok Sabha passed it once more, as the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and several other Opposition parties walked out. An earlier version was approved by the Lok Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term but failed in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.

Opposition objections

Opposition parties argued that the law could be misused to harass Muslims, noting that it allows police to arrest without a warrant, and wanted a parliamentary committee to examine it. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said laws should not be made to “finish one particular religion”. He urged the government to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures instead, as Congress governments had done for panchayats and local bodies.

See also: Indian National Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party.

Originally published on 1 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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