Madras HC rules that Muslim women can only file for divorce in family courts

Chennai: The Madras High Court has ruled that Muslim women seeking "Khula" (divorce) should only go to family courts and not other private organisations like the Shariat Council, which is made up of a few Jamaat members.

According to the court, the Khula certificates given by private organisations are invalid under the law.

A Justice C. Shivaraman-led panel nullified a Khula certificate granted by the Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamath's Shariat Council and instructed the divorcing couple to take their disputes to a family court or the Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority instead.

The judge issued the direction while hearing a petition of a man seeking the court to quash the Khula certificate obtained by his wife from the Shariat Council in 2017.

The petitioner also contended that the Shariat Council, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, has no authority to issue such certificates. He also told the court that he had filed a petition restoring conjugal rights in 2017 and obtained an ex-parte decree also.

He said that a petition for executing the decree was pending before an additional family court judge.

The court heard the petitioner and the Shariat Council as the petitioner's wife chose to remain absent and did not appear in person or through counsel.

The judge further said that only a judicial forum was empowered to pass a decree to dissolve a marriage under Section 7(1)(b) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

Justice Shivaraman also said that the Madras High Court in the Badar Sayeed versus Union of India (2017) case had restrained Khasis from issuing Khula certificates.

With inputs from IANS