INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
CHENNAI: Shariat councils are neither courts nor arbitrators of conflicts authorised to rule on annulment of marital relationship, the
Madras high court stated Tuesday while encouraging Muslim ladies seeking lawfully legitimate Khula (divorce) to approach only family
While it is open for a Muslim lady to exercise her inalienable rights to liquify the marital relationship by Khula, as recognised under the
Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, it can be done just by approaching a household court, Justice C Saravanan said, quashing a
Khula certificate issued by a shariat council in 2017
The judge directed the other half of the petitioner to approach the Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority or a family court for a legal
dissolution of her marriage by Khula
A certificate of annulment of marriage even under conventional law can not be provided by a self-declared body consisting of a few members
of Jamath , Justice Saravanan said.In his petition, the husband had actually argued that extra-judicial decrees such as a fatwa or a Khula
certificate had no legal sanction and could not be implemented by any individual or personal entity.Opposing the plea, the local shariat
council contended that the Kerala high court had upheld the practice while hearing a comparable case and, hence, the husbands petition wasnt
maintainable.Justice Saravanan turned down the contention, saying that the Kerala high courts judgment supported only the Muslim ladys
right to unilateral divorce through Khula, however has not endorsed the involvement of personal bodies like the shariat council
Private bodies such as the shariat council can not pronounce or certify dissolution of marriage by Khula, he ruled.Only family courts are
empowered under Section 7( 1 )(b) of the Family Courts Act, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) to
liquify marital relationships, the court said.
