New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday night signed the ordinance banning the practice of instant triple talaq, a senior Law Ministry functionary said.

The ordinance was cleared by the Union Cabinet Wednesday morning.

The government has said the measure was necessary as the practice of talaq-e-biddat was continuing unabated despite the Supreme Court last year striking it down.

Under the ordinance, giving instant triple talaq is illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government has included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision of bail for the accused before trial.

These amendments were cleared by the Cabinet on August 29.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)