Soon after the Union cabinet cleared an ordinance against the practice of instant triple talaq on Wednesday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi called it unconstitutional.
He also said that the ordinance violated the fundamental rights of the Muslim women.
“This ordinance is unconstitutional. The ordinance is against the Constitution's right to equality as it is being made only for Muslims. All India Muslim Personal Law Board & women organisations should challenge this ordinance in the Supreme Court,” he said.
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The Hyderabad MP said under the new law if a Muslim man gives instant triple talaq to his life, he faces a jail term of at least three years. However, if a Hindu does the same crime, he will be imprisoned only for a year.
“This ordinance will not provide justice to the Muslim women. In Islam, marriage is a civil contract and bringing penal provisions in it is wrong,” Owaisi said.
Earlier the Union cabinet cleared the ordinance that makes the practice of instant triple talaq a cognisable offence, a move that is politically significant and designed to mount pressure on the opposition, especially the Congress.
Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the move was necessitated as cases of triple talaq were happening unabated despite the Supreme Court's judgment declaring the practice as unconstitutional.
