The union cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to the triple talaq ordinance, which makes the practise of instant "talaq", or "divorce" in Arabic, three times - an offence punishable with up to three years in jail, said finance minister Arun Jaitley.

The cabinet gave its nod to the ordinance after a bill that had sought to make the practice a non-bailable offence faced resistance from Congress and some other parties in Rajya Sabha despite being approved by Lok Sabha.

The bill will lapse on June 3 with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha.

Once signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, the triple talaq ordinance will come into force for the third time in less than one year.

The Supreme Court outlawed triple talaq in August last year and asked the government to introduce legislation to enforce the court ruling.

The government first issued an ordinance against the practice in September, after instances of Muslim men divorcing their wives over the messaging app WhatsApp, or for reasons such as poor cooking.

With inputs from agencies.

First Published:Feb 19, 2019 8:44 PM IST