Muslim man has no right to refuse wife's demand for khula divorce: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has ruled that a Muslim man does not have the right to refuse Khula merely because the wife declines to return the dower or a part of it. (File: PTI)

A Muslim man has no right to refuse his wife's demand for khula (wife-initiated divorce) and the court's only role is limited to recognising the termination of marriage, making it binding on both parties, the Telangana High Court ruled on Tuesday.

The judgement was delivered by a bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and BR Madhusudhan Rao on a man's petition challenging a family court order that dismissed his demand declaring the khula nama (divorce certificate) issued to him as null and void, reports The Indian Express.

Islamic law recognizes khula as a contractual dissolution of marriage initiated by the wife, typically involving compensation to the husband, often by returning the dower (mehr) and settling the matter privately by consulting a mufti.

The matter pertains to a couple had been married since 2012. A khula nama was issued in October 2020 by a mufti, a professor of Islamic studies, a professor of Arabic and the imam of a mosque. after the wife sought a divorce after being assaulted by the husband and hospitalized in 2017.

The husband refused to attend reconciliation meetings and in 2020 approached a family court, questioning the authority of the mufti in issuing the khula nama. The family court dismissed the petition in February 2024.

In its judgement, the court drew extensively from Quranic verses, Hadith literature, and prior judicial precedents to clarify the rights and procedures regarding khula.

"Khula is a no-fault divorce initiated by the Muslim wife. Upon a demand for Khula, the husband does not have the option to refuse the demand save and except to negotiate the return of the dower (Mehr) or a part thereof. The husband, however, does not have the right to refuse Khula merely because the wife declines to return the dower or a part of it,” the division bench said in its order while referring to various court judgments on approaches undertaken in the case of a khula divorce.

"Khula is, therefore, a non-confrontational form of divorce and one which is privately settled after the parties have made an attempt to preserve the marriage,” the order further said, according to The Indian Express.

"Approaching a Mufti for a Khulanama is not compulsory and does not reinforce the Khula as the Fatwa/advisory decision given by a Mufti is not legally enforceable in a Court of law. The aggrieved party/husband may approach a Court/Qazi for adjudication on the status of the marriage consequent upon the wife seeking the Khula. The Court/Qazi is required to pronounce its view, which becomes a binding judgment on the status of the marriage. The judgment/qaza pronounced by the Court is binding on the parties,” the order added.

Following the court's order, the advocate representing the wife said the most remarkable aspect of the judgment is that since the element of husband’s concurrence is unnecessary for a khula divorce, there is no need for family courts to conduct a full-fledged trial.

"Once the wife makes a demand for khula, all that is required for the court is to pronounce khula. The wife is not required to prove or plead why she wants divorce. Earlier, it was taking six to eight years for the court to pronounce judgments in khula cases and there are thousands of such cases before the court in Telangana,” the lawyer said.