'Husband's Consent Not Required': Telangana HC Affirms Khula Divorce To Muslim Woman

News18

26-06-2025

Last Updated:
The Telangana High Court ruled that a Muslim wife can dissolve her marriage through khula without her husband's consent, emphasizing it as a no-fault, immediate divorce.
In a significant ruling that underscores the autonomy of Muslim women within personal law, 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.
Khula is a form of divorce under Islamic law where a woman initiates the dissolution of her marriage, typically by relinquishing her claim to maintenance (mehr).
A bench of justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and BR Madhusudhan Rao delivered the judgement on Tuesday, noting 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.
A Muslim man's appeal was being heard by the bench, challenging a 2024 family court order that upheld a 2020 divorce certificate (khulanama) issued by the 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 opposed the divorce, which his wife had initiated after he refused to agree to a khula.
While hearing his appeal, the bench 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 bench 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."
'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," the court said.
The judgment put khula, the right of Muslim women to initiate divorce, on par with talaq, the unilateral right of Muslim men to dissolve marriage, declaring both as unconditional modes of divorce.
While referencing Quranic verses and multiple judicial precedents, including the Shayara Bano (2017) and Shamim Ara (2002) rulings by the Supreme Court, the bench stated, 'A wife's right to khula is parallel to a husband's right to talaq… The husband may negotiate the return of the mehr (dower), but cannot compel the wife to continue the marriage."
The judgment noted that neither the Quran nor the Hadith outlines a required procedure if a husband rejects a wife's khula request, rendering it theologically and legally unnecessary to obtain his consent.
In this particular case, the wife 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 decision, specified that one exception is that religious officials like Muftis can't legally 'certify" a khula divorce, despite their role in providing advisory opinions being acknowledged.
'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.
The judges acknowledged concerns raised by the woman's counsel regarding the uncertain status of many Muslim women post-khula and expressed hope that court rulings would bring clarity and justice to all parties involved.
'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 distinguished khula from mubaraat, where both spouses mutually agree to end the marriage, and emphasised that a wife's right to khula is independent and irrevocable once exercised.
tags :
Telangana HC
Location :
Telangana, India, India
First Published:
June 26, 2025, 12:16 IST
News india 'Husband's Consent Not Required': Telangana HC Affirms Khula Divorce To Muslim Woman