March 27, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has rejected the Supreme Court’s ruling that granted a first wife the right to annul her marriage if her husband remarries without her consent, declaring it inconsistent with Sharia law.
“Granting the first wife the right to annul her marriage due to her husband’s second marriage without her permission is contrary to Sharia, and any court ruling endorsing such a right is invalid under Sharia law,” said the CII ruling.
The Islamic Ideology Council held its 241st session in Islamabad on March 25–26, chaired by its Chairman, Dr Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi. The meeting reviewed 19 agenda items.
The CII discussed the Oct 23, 2024 Supreme Court’s decision, concerning a marriage dispute and the violation of Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961. The case in the Supreme Court involved a husband who had entered into a second marriage without obtaining permission from his previous wife.
The three-member bench verdict reinforced wives’ rights to dissolution of marriage if husbands violated provision Clause (iia) of section 2 of the MFLO 1961. The clause provides that taking an additional wife by the husband in contravention of the provisions of the Ordinance of 1961 was one of the grounds for dissolution of marriage.
The apex court, however, had emphasised in its verdict the importance of adhering to legal procedures in marriage, particularly those concerning polygamy. It had noted that the 1961 Law protects the wife’s right to seek dissolution of marriage in case of such violations while ensuring that her other rights are also safeguarded.
The apex court also clarified adjudication standards for dissolution of marriage on grounds of Khula and cruelty. The SC judgment ruled that the appellate court erred in granting Khula unilaterally which requires wife’s express/implied consent, adding that High Court erred in dissolving marriage for cruelty without examining evidence in the case.
The CII members also recalled some earlier decisions of the Council that males do not need the permission of the existing wife or wives for subsequent marriages as per the principles of Sharia. It also noted that the MFLO1961 as contrary to Sharia and the males can enter into four marriages at one time, without being answerable to previous wives or any person.
Advocate Alia Malik, associate lawyer of AGHS Legal Aid Cell, said the SC judgment re-affirmed protection and relief given to aggrieved women in the Muslim Family Law 1961. In her view, the verdict in no way restricts or hinders the right of a Muslim male to contract second marriage in Islamic Sharia. “The judgment merely provides a relief to a woman aggrieved at the second marriage of her husband without her permission or the Arbitration Council,” she added.