Muslim women can unilaterally divorce: Telangana HC

Hindustan Times

6 hours ago

The Telangana High Court has 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, in a significant ruling that underscores the autonomy of Muslim women within personal law. Khula is a form of divorce under Islamic law where a Muslim wife initiates the dissolution of her marriage. (Telangana High Court website)
Khula is a form of divorce under Islamic law where a Muslim wife initiates the dissolution of her marriage, typically by relinquishing her claim to dower (mehr). It is a no-fault, non-confrontational divorce.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, a bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and BR Madhusudhan Rao noted that khula is a no-fault, non-confrontational mode of divorce, initiated solely at the wife's instance, and once the demand is made, it takes immediate effect in the private sphere.
'Since the wife's right to demand khula is absolute and does not have to be predicated on a cause or acceptance of the demand by the husband, the only role of a Court of law is to put a judicial stamp on the termination of the marriage, which then becomes binding on both parties,' it said.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by a Muslim man challenging a family court's 2024 order that had refused to nullify a 2020 divorce certificate (khulanama) issued by Sada-E-Haq Sharai Council, a non-statutory body comprising Islamic scholars, Muftis and Imams, that mediates marital disputes in line with Islamic personal law. The man had contested the divorce initiated by his wife after he declined to agree to a khula.
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The bench categorically stated that obtaining a certificate of divorce from a Mufti or Dar-ul-Qaza (Islamic tribunal) is not essential to formalise a khula divorce.
'The opinion given by a Mufti is advisory in nature,' the judges said. 'Approaching a Mufti for a khulanama is not compulsory… the fatwa given by a Mufti is not legally enforceable in a Court of law.'
According to the judgment, a private khula becomes effective the moment the wife expresses her intention to dissolve the marriage, unless the matter escalates to a judicial forum. In such cases, the Family Court's role is limited and procedural.
'The Family Court is simply to ascertain whether the demand of khula is valid upon an effective attempt to reconcile the differences between the parties; or any offer by the wife to return the dower. The enquiry should be summary in nature without long-drawn out evidence – adjudication,' underscored the court.
The judgment placed khula on equal footing with talaq, the unilateral right available to Muslim men to dissolve marriage, stating that both are unconditional modes of divorce.
'A wife's right to khula is parallel to a husband's right to talaq… The husband may negotiate return of the mehr (dower), but cannot compel the wife to continue the marriage,' noted the bench, referencing Quranic verses and multiple judicial precedents including the Shayara Bano (2017) and Shamim Ara (2002) rulings by the Supreme Court.
It further observed that neither the Quran nor the Hadith prescribes a mandatory procedure if the husband rejects the wife's demand for khula, thereby making any insistence on his consent both theologically and legally untenable.
The wife in the present matter had approached the Council and demanded khula multiple times following failed reconciliation attempts. She was eventually issued a khulanama by the Council. Her husband, however, filed a petition in the family court, seeking to declare the certificate invalid. The family court dismissed the petition, prompting the present appeal.
The High Court, while upholding the family court's ruling, clarified that the only exception was that religious functionaries such as Muftis do not have the legal authority to 'certify' a khula divorce, even if their role in issuing advisory opinions is not disputed.
'The appellant has failed to make out a case for interference… save and except to the extent that a Mufti/Religious Functionary does not have the authority to certify a khula divorce,' it held.
Acknowledging the broader concern raised by the woman's counsel regarding the uncertain status of many Muslim women post-khula, the judges expressed hope that courts' pronouncements will guide stakeholders towards clarity and justice.
'We are confident that the law pronounced by the courts shall be given its due weightage by all the stakeholders in easing the plight of Muslim women in their respective situations,' the bench observed.
The ruling also differentiated khula from mubaraat, where both spouses mutually agree to end the marriage, and reinforced that the wife's right to khula stands independent and irrevocable once exercised.