A total of 59 bills were introduced in Parliament in the year 2019. Some of them were significant as well as controversial. Here is a roundup of the 10 most important bills passed in 2019. Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India for a second term on 30 May 2019, following the massive victory of BJP and allies in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Hence, the 16, as well as the 17 Lok Sabha (Modi’s 1 & 2 term) , were both in session during 2019. The year 2019 witnessed the passing of many important and highly debated bills in parliament. Some of these bills led to controversies and are now challenged in the Supreme Court. How many Parliament Sessions were convened in 2019? While the Winter Session of 2018 (16 Lok Sabha)concluded on 09 January 2019, the interim Budget Session of the 16 LS lasted for a fortnight between 31 January 2019 and 13 February 2019. The first session of the 17 LS commencedon 17 June 2019 and continued till 07 August 2019. The Winter Session of 2019 which began on 18 November 2019 came to an endon 13 December 2019. A total of 59 Bills were introduced in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in 2019 as per the data available on thewebsite of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MPA). A snapshot of theparliamentary work undertaken in 2019 is also available on the MPA website. Factly takes a look at ten of the most significantbills passed in 2019. The acts have been listed out in the order in which theywere introduced. 1. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill (Triple Talaq) The Bill was introduced in June 2019 replacing an earlier ordinance. The act deems the practice of ‘triple talaq’ or ‘talaq-e-biddat’, in any form- oral, written or electronic void and illegal. ‘Talaq’ is a term pronounced by Muslim husbands thrice to divorce their wives. Following the passage of the bill, the declaration of ‘talaq’ has been made a cognisable offence (arrest without warrant) which can result in imprisonment of up to three years in addition to a penalty. The offence is cognisable only if the complaint has been registered by the woman or her relatives. The wife will be the custodian of the children and is also entitled to get a subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and their children. The act can be accessed here. 2. The new Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 On08 July 2019, the new Consumer Protection Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. Passed in August, the Actreplaced the erstwhile Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The 2019 act has introduced a new Central Consumer Protection Authority ‘to promote, protect and enforce the rights of the consumers.’ Product Liability is another important concept introduced in the Act that mandates the service provider to compensate the consumer for loss or injury due to a manufacturing defect in the product or poor service. Provisions on e-commerce have also been included in the new act. All laws pertaining to direct selling are applicable for e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc. Product Liability, in this case, would include sellers as well as the e-commerce aggregators. Misleading advertisements can lead to an imprisonment of two years and a fine up to Rs 10 Lakhs. Even the endorser of misleading advertisements can face a ban of one year. Consumer litigation has been simplified through the enactment of this act since it permits electronic filing of complaints and the complainant to attend hearing through video conference. Here is the link to Factly’s explainer on the new law. Also, watch our ‘Decode’ episode on Consumer Rights here. Also, watch the ‘Decode’ episode on the process for filing a complaint with the consumer forum. 3. The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill TheNational Investigation Agency (NIA) was set up by the government through theenactment of the National Investigation Act, 2008 to investigatespecific cases under certain laws. The NIA amendment bill passed in July thisyear allows NIA to investigate terrorist activities against Indians and Indianinterests outside the country as well. As per the 2008 Act, only activitieswhich are deemed crimes under the acts mentioned in the schedule could beprobed by NIA. Theamendment has added multiple sections of Indian Penal Code and other acts tothe schedule, thus expanding the scope of crimes that could be investigated bythe NIA. The NIA can now investigate offences pertaining to human trafficking,counterfeit currency, cyber terrorism and those under Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The gazettenotification of the amendment can be found here. 4. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill Introduced in the Lok Sabha on 08 July 2019, the objective of the bill was to amend the existing Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 .