New Delhi, India – India’s government on Wednesday decided to make the practice of instant triple talaq (divorce) a punishable offence through an executive order after the draft law failed to pass in parliament in August.

Under the proposed law, Muslim men who end their marriage using instant divorce, or talaq-e-biddat, will now face a jail term of up to three years and a fine.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017, introduced by the Narendra Modi government in parliament last year, could not be passed due to lack of consensus.

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