New Delhi, June 21: The Lok Sabha on Friday tabled the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 - the law to criminalise the practice of Triple Talaq or instant divorce. The law was introduced following a division of votes, as insisted by lawmakers from the Opposition camp.

A large number of newly elected MPs were absent from Friday's proceedings, bringing down the effective strength of the House. Out of 260 members present in the Lok Sabha, 186 voted in favour of tabling the Bill, whereas, 74 lawmakers opposed the legislation's introduction in the House. Live: Triple Talaq Bill Tabled in Lok Sabha, Discussion in Encephalitis Next

Before voting was undertaken, select-members of the Opposition benches raised their apprehensions against the law. Prominent among those who marked their dissent were Thiruvananthapuram MP and Congress veteran Shashi Tharoor, along with AIMIM chief and Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi.

Both Tharoor and Owaisi alleged that the Bill does not empower the Muslim women and is only intended to target male members of the minority community. They called the law violative of Article 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution.

"By framing a law criminalising only muslim husbands for a void Act, without having a universally applicable law for the act of desertion the Bill is a textbook example of a class legislation which violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution," Tharoor said.

Alleging that the Bill is violative of the above-mentioned Articles of the Constitution, Owaisi told the House that a Hindu gets 1 year in jail for illegally divorcing his wife, and a Muslim man would be sentenced to 3 years for practicing talaq-e-bidat or instant triple divorce.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2019 02:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).