A contentious bill that makes instant triple talaq a criminal offence and provides for a jail term to a Muslim man for the crime, was moved for passage in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with the Congress opposing the criminal angle in it and NDA ally JD(U) staging a walkout.

Moving the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, in the Upper House, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the proposed legislation 'should be not seen through a political prism or vote bank politics' because it aims at ensuring gender dignity, justice and equality.

'This is a question of humanity. This is for ensuring justice to women, dignity and empowerment to women and to ensure gender dignity and equality,' he said.

He said more than 20 Islamic countries have regulated instant triple talaq in various forms. 'India is a secular country, but unfortunately for one reason or the other it could not happen,' he said.

Urging members to approve the bill, Prasad said the practice of instant triple talaq has continued despite the Supreme Court banning it through a judgment. The government had thought that this illegal practice would stop after the apex court judgment but it did not, he said.

As many as 574 cases of the illegal practice were reported after the Supreme Court judgment and 101 cases have come to light after the ordinance issued by the government criminalising the practice, he said.

Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has allotted four hours for discussing the legislation.