A prominent Muslim leader in India has termed the fresh Ordinance criminalising triple or instant talaq a “violation of the right to equality enshrined in the Constitution” and an attempt by the Narendra Modi Government to torture the Muslims in India.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi reacting to the Ordinance issued on Wednesday told a media conference in Hyderabad that the Ordinance will not do justice to Muslim women but further aggravate their condition.
“In Islam marriage is a civil contract. It is wrong to apply penal provisions on it. This is bad in law and bad in Constitution”, he said.
He appealed to the Muslim Personal Law Board to challenge it in the Supreme Court. “I am sure that it will be challenged as there are strong legal grounds to do so”, he said.
Pointing out the glaring discrepancy and discrimination in the ordinance he said that if a Muslim man give instant divorce to his wife the ordinance provides for three years imprisonment but in case of a man from any other community for the same act he will be punished with only one year imprisonment under another law. “This is against the right to equality under the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution”, he said.
Moreover if rash driving results in death the punishment was only for two years and here the imprisonment was three years, he said.
Owaisi contended that the Supreme Court had never asked the Government to bring a penal provision against the instant Talaq but had declared it invalid saying that even any body pronounces the triple talaq the marriage will remain un-dissolved.
Pointing out that under the ordinance a man who pronounces instant Talaq will have to undergo imprisonment as well as pay the maintenance to the woman. “Why I am saying is that this is even bigger
injustice to woman is that while he remains in jail for three years the woman will remain stuck in the marriage. Do you think even after the man comes out of prison they can live together peacefully”, Owaisi asked.
The MP from Hyderabad expressed apprehensions that the Ordinance will be misused to arrest Muslim men and imprisonment.
