HC order on khula in tune with times
A judgement of the Telangana High Court this month that upheld Muslim women's right to invoke khula, the process for a woman to obtain divorce under Islamic law, will go a long way in their fight for justice. The court held that a Muslim wife has an absolute and unconditional right to dissolve her marriage through khula and that the husband's consent is not a prerequisite for its validity. The bench was hearing an appeal by a Muslim man who contested the divorce his wife initiated though he refused consent to a khula. The verdict also stated the clerics have no role in effecting khula and that religious bodies cannot issue valid divorce certificates. The judgement stated that only the courts can grant divorce after ascertaining if the khula is valid. However, the husband has the right to challenge the verdict.
The Kerala High Court pronounced a similar judgement in 2022, declaring that unilateral divorce 'is an absolute right, conferred on her by the Koran and is not subject to the acceptance or the will of her husband'. The judgement had placed khula on equal footing with talaq, the unilateral right available to Muslim men to dissolve a marriage, stating that both are unconditional modes of divorce.
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