Sharia can’t be cited to deny divorce declaration: Gujarat High Court

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has ruled that a family court cannot refuse to grant the declaration of divorce to a Muslim couple under the Family Court Act on the grounds that they can dissolve the marriage under Sharia.The HC quashed an Ahmedabad family court’s order passed in Dec 2024, rejecting a suit seeking the declaration of the dissolution of marriage.The husband had given talaq, and a deed was notarised in March 2024. The HC declared the marriage dissolved under the provisions of Mubara’at, a form of divorce in Islamic law.After the execution of the divorce deed, the man filed a suit in the family court seeking a declaration of the dissolution of the marriage under Section 7 of the Family Court Act.

The woman did not oppose the plea.The family court rejected the suit, saying that since the woman did not oppose the husband’s claim, there was no reason for him to approach the court. The court said it cannot be approached to obtain a declaratory decree regarding talaq, which is legally executed under the Sharia.The HC was moved against this order, and the parties submitted that four major forms of dissolution of marriage are recognised under Islamic law and protected under the Shariat Act.

The forms are Talaq-itafweez, Khula, Mubara’at, and Faskh. The parties’ counsel contended that Mubara’at would be applicable because both parties have consented to divorce.After the hearing, the HC said that the family court’s finding that the wife should have denied the marital status to make the husband eligible to file a suit was an error.The HC said it is a misconception that after executing talaq, Muslim couples cannot approach a family court for a decree.