The bill has been passed by the lower House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, and will now be sent to the upper House, the Rajya Sabha, for discussions.?Photo: File/AFP

DELHI: India's lower House of Parliament on Thursday passed a bill criminalising the practice by of instant divorce or 'triple talaaq', Indian media reported.

According to media reports, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat in any form ? spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp ? "illegal and void" and provides for a jail term of three years for the husband.

The bill will now be sent to the upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, for discussions. 

The bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasadand and prepared by an inter-ministerial group headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, was cleared by the Union Cabinet earlier this month.

Officials say the bill is aimed at protecting the rights of married Muslim women and prohibiting divorce by mere pronouncement divorce by the husband.

According to the provisions of the bill, the husband convicted of the offense can be fined an amount decided by the magistrate hearing the case.

Officials say the law gives the the affected woman the power to approach the court seeking "subsistence allowance" for herself and minor children, and also seek custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the issue.

In August, the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional the law, which allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word "talaaq" three times.

Muslim women had petitioned the court, arguing the practice of husbands divorcing them through "triple talaq", including by Skype and WhatsApp, not only violated their rights but left many women destitute.

Muslims are the biggest religious minority in Hindu-majority India and relations between the communities have been occasionally strained since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a 2014 election.

India is one of the few countries where the practice of instant divorce has survived and some Muslim groups have said that while it was wrong, the law should be reviewed by the community itself.

Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board say the government has no right to outlaw instant triple talaq, as it was directly interfering with the Muslim personal law.