'Miya biwi raazi...': Rajasthan HC agrees to dissolve marriage
What's the story
The Rajasthan High Court recently recognized the dissolution of a Muslim couple's marriage on mutual consent, upholding the validity of Mubarat, a form of mutual divorce under Muslim personal law. The court's decision gave a twist to the adage, saying, "Miya Biwi Raazi, Nahi Maan Rahaa Qazi" (husband and wife are willing, but the judge does not agree). The bench of Justices Arun Monga and Yogendra Kumar Purohit allowed an appeal filed by the woman in the case.
Legal guidelines
Court's intervention follows routine rejection of similar petitions
The court intervened after noticing that family courts in Rajasthan were regularly rejecting similar petitions for marriage dissolution under Muslim law. It then issued guidelines for family courts to follow in such cases. These include ensuring the personal presence of parties to record statements on extra-judicial divorce and producing written agreements like Mubarat Nama or Talaq Nama before the court.
Case details
Case background: Disputes and divorce agreement
In this case, the couple had married as per Muslim Sharia. However, serious disputes arose due to differences in temperament and ideology. During the marriage, the husband pronounced talaq on his wife as per Muslim law. Both parties later admitted to executing a written divorce agreement by mutual consent. The wife then approached a family court for dissolution of marriage, but her application was dismissed.
Ruling details
High court's ruling on wife's entitlement to decree
Dissatisfied with the family court's decision, the wife approached the high court. The court ruled that both husband and wife had clearly stated that talaq was pronounced during their marriage, which was accepted by the wife. "This being the ultimate fact situation," it said, "the Family Court erred in holding that the wife had failed to prove that her husband had duly divorced her."