Court says divorce petition cannot be unilaterally converted into khula without wife’s voluntary consent
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Sunday, clarifying that men who marry for the second time without the consent of their first wife or the approval of the arbitration council can face both criminal and civil proceedings.
The ruling arises from the case of Naila Javed, who sought annulment of her marriage after her husband married a second time without her written consent and without seeking approval from the talaq board.
The court, in a five-page verdict written by Justice Musarrat Hilali, ordered the husband to pay Rs 1.2 million in mahr and declared earlier judgments of the Family Court and the Peshawar High Court null and void.
The Supreme Court ruled that under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act and the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, a woman has the right to seek annulment if her husband enters into a second marriage without her consent. The court emphasized that courts cannot unilaterally convert a divorce petition into a khula (judicial divorce) without the wife’s voluntary consent.
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The ruling noted that during the case, the husband had failed to provide maintenance (nafaqah) to his first wife, attempted to discredit her character during cross-examination, and openly admitted to having married a second time without the council’s approval.
The Supreme Court qualified these actions as legally constituting oppression (zulm) and ruled that the wife’s refusal to live with her husband in such circumstances cannot be considered disobedience.
The court further emphasized that any husband who marries a second time without the consent of the first wife or the approval of the arbitration council may face criminal and civil proceedings, reinforcing the legal safeguards of Pakistan’s family law.
This ruling represents a significant clarification of Muslim family law, ensuring that a woman’s consent is fundamental to the legality of subsequent marriages.
