Criminal law is kept out of family as far as possible, which is a general policy everywhere. Why are we bringing criminal law into something which is a non-existing factor?, asks Salman Khursheed.
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NEW DELHI — Senior Congress leader and a former union law minister, Salman Khursheed, said on Thursday the proposed law banning Triple Talaq will be an “intrusion” into the personal lives of individuals and bring divorce, a civil issue, into the realm of criminal law, PTI reports.
Salman Khursheed, who is also a Supreme Court lawyer, said divorce or consequences of divorce are areas of civil law and not criminal law, which comes in only when there is violence.
“Criminal law is kept out of family as far as possible, which is a general policy everywhere. Why are we bringing criminal law into something which is a non-existing factor? ‘Triple talaq’ is no institution or institutional fact of life, the Supreme Court has made it very clear,” he said.
Congress, however, said it supports the “triple talaq” bill introduced in the Lok Sabha but wants it to be strengthened to safeguard the rights of divorced Muslim women so they live a life of dignity with adequate subsistence allowance.
“The present bill needs to be strengthened to safeguard the rights of women to a life of dignity with adequate subsistence allowance. Parliament must ensure protection of rights of Muslim women and children under all circumstances,” Congress’ communications department in-charge Randeep Surjewala said.
He said the Congress was the first political party to welcome the Supreme Court verdict banning “triple talaq“, and had hailed it as a decisive step toward women empowerment and victory for the rights of Muslim women.
Mr Surjewala said Section 5 of the bill merely states that Muslim women are entitled to subsistence allowance without defining subsistence allowance and explaining the method of calculating it. It also does not clarify whether the maintenance awarded to a Muslim woman under Sections 3 and 4 of the bill will be deducted from the proposed subsistence allowance or will it be in addition to that, according to the PTI report.
Salman Khursheed, however, said the bill is an intrusion into the personal lives of individuals. “Taking criminal law into the family, you have to be careful. To make divorce in any form a criminal matter is unacceptable anywhere in the world.”
All Muslim women’s groups have asked an obvious question as to who will pay the maintenance and subsistence allowance once the husband is in jail, Mr Surjewala said.
