THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- December 18, 2017- Topic 1

Divorce as crime: on instant triple talaq

The Centre’s proposal to make instant triple talaq an offence punishable with three-year imprisonment and a fine is an unnecessary attempt to convert a civil wrong into a criminal act. By a three-two majority, the Supreme Court has already declared, and correctly, that the practice of talaq-e-biddat, or instant divorce of a Muslim woman by uttering the word ‘talaq’ thrice, is illegal and unenforceable. While two judges in the majority said the practice was arbitrary and, therefore, unconstitutional, the third judge ruled that it was illegal because it was contrary to Islamic tenets. 

Its consequence is that the husband’s marital obligations remain, regardless of his intention in pronouncing it. When Parliament enacts a law to give effect to the judicial invalidation of talaq-e-biddat, it must primarily ensure protection to Muslim women against its use. Although the details are not yet available, the proposed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, appears to have provisions for maintenance or subsistence allowance to the wife and children in the event of triple talaq being pronounced. It seeks to preserve the woman’s entitlement to custody of her children. While these are welcome and necessary features of a law aimed to protect the rights of Muslim women against arbitrary divorce, it hardly requires iteration that the civil character of these aspects of marital law must be preserved.

Instant triple talaq is viewed as sinful and improper by a large section of the community itself. Therefore, there can be no dispute about the need to protect Muslim women against the practice. But it is also well established that criminalising something does not have any deterrent effect on its practice. That there have been 66 cases of its use after the Supreme Court verdict only underscores the need for protecting women against desertion and abandonment, but is it justified to send someone to jail? Also, the fine amount under consideration could as well be awarded as maintenance or subsistence allowance. The All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen president, Asaduddin Owaisi, has argued in a letter to the Union Law Minister that there is no need for a fresh criminal provision when existing laws, under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code or provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, already allow the prosecution of a husband for inflicting physical or mental cruelty, emotional and economic abuse, and for deprivation of financial resources. Regardless of whether instant talaq would fall under any of these forms of cruelty or domestic violence, criminalising it risks defeating the objective of preserving the husband’s legal obligations, and the payment of maintenance. The Centre would do well to reconsider its draft and limit its scope to providing relief to women, instead of creating a new offence out of a civil matter.

Vocabulary

Offence: a breach of a law or rule; an illegal act.

Example: Neither offense violates any federal law

Synonyms: crime, illegal/unlawful act, misdemeanor, breach of the law, felony

Proposal: a plan or suggestion, especially a formal or written one, put forward for consideration or discussion by others.

Example: A set of proposals for a major new high-speed rail link

Synonyms: plan, idea, scheme, project, program, manifesto, motion, proposition

Utter: make a sound with one's voice.

Example: He uttered an exasperated snort

Synonyms: emit, let out, give, produce

Unenforceable: impossible to enforce.

Example: It is a criminological commonplace that it is counter-productive to pass unenforceable laws because this breeds general contempt for the law.

Arbitrary: based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

Example: His mealtimes were entirely arbitrary

Synonyms: capricious, whimsical, random, chance, unpredictable, casual

Contrary: opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.

Example: He ignored contrary advice and agreed on the deal

Synonyms: opposite, opposing, opposed, contradictory, clashing, conflicting

Obligation: an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment.

Example: He has enough cash to meet his present obligations

Synonyms: duty, commitment, responsibility, moral imperative, function, task

Intention: a thing intended; an aim or plan.

Example: She was full of good intentions

Subsistence: the action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.

Example: The minimum income needed for subsistence

Synonyms: maintenance, keep, upkeep, livelihood, room and board

Sinful: wicked and immoral.

Example: Sinful men

Synonyms: immoral, wicked, morally wrong, wrongful, evil, bad, iniquitous

Desertion: the action of deserting a person, cause, or organization.

Example: Her mother's desertion of her family

Synonyms: abandonment, leaving, jilting; defection, betrayal, renunciation, repudiation

Abandonment: the action or fact of abandoning or being abandoned.

Example: She had a feeling of utter abandonment and loneliness

Subsistence: the action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level.

Example: The minimum income needed for subsistence

Synonyms: maintenance, keep, upkeep, livelihood, room and board, board

Inflict: cause something unpleasant or painful to be suffered by someone or something.

Example: They inflicted serious injuries on three other men

Synonyms: administer to, deliver to, deal out to, dispense to, mete out to

Preserve: maintain something in its original or existing state.

Example: All records of the past were zealously preserved

Synonyms: conserve, protect, maintain, care for, look after