Varun Hari Prasad

Yesterday (i.e. 19 September), the Union Cabinet cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Ordinance 2018 which criminalises instant triple talaq. The ordinance was subsequently signed by the President. This Ordinance is a farce, a violation of certain principles of jurisprudence and most importantly it sets a dangerous precedent in legislation process. Let us look at each of these issues in detail. The Ordinance route The power to promulgate an Ordinance is an extraordinary power vested with the executive. Through the instrument of Ordinances, the government can make laws to meet urgent needs during a time when Parliament is not in session. However, such Ordinances have to be approved by Parliament within six weeks of the next session of the Parliament. On 23 July 2017, then President Shri Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing the Parliament made an observation regarding Ordinances which is as follows: “I am firm in the opinion that the Ordinance rout...

On 5 th September the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgement which decriminalised homosexuality to an extent. The judgement drew curtains on the debate pertaining to the core of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. But have we really reached the end? In my view there is still a long way to go. What is Section 377 of IPC? Section 377 of the IPC states: “ Whoever voluntarily has carnal inter­course against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with 1[imprisonment for life], or with impris­onment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. ” This archaic British law dates back to 1861. The Current Position The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Apex Court delivered four separate judgements but arrived at a unanimous conclusion. In our quest for headlines we tend to forget the main takeaways of the judgement itself. The core of this judgement, for...