The Supreme Court on Monday reiterated that entities referred to as ‘Sharia court’ or ‘court of Kazi’ have no legal recognition in the country and that the orders issued by them are not enforceable in law.
A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah recalled a 2014 judgment in Vishwa Lochan Madan vs Union of India case, in which the top court had made it clear that Sharia courts and fatwas do not have legal sanction.
"Bodies styled as 'Court of Kazi', 'Darul Kaja', or 'Sharia Court', whatever their label, have no legal standing. As previously held in Vishwa Lochan Madan, any order or directive issued by them is not binding, nor can it be enforced by coercive means. Such decisions may only have relevance if the parties voluntarily accept them, and even then, only insofar as they do not violate any existing law,” said the apex court.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a woman who challenged an Allahabad High Court order upholding a family court’s decision to deny her maintenance. The family court had based its findings on a compromise document submitted before a Court of Kazi.
The woman and her husband tied the knot on September 24, 2002 following Islamic customs. In 2005, the husband initiated divorce proceedings before a ‘Court of Kazi’ in Bhopal. However, the couple reached a compromise in November 2005 and subsequently the petition was dismissed.
However, in 2008, the husband again initiated divorce proceedings before a ‘Darul Kaja’. The woman then approached a family court seeking maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The family court rejected her petition, noting that she herself was the cause of the marital dispute and that the husband had not deserted her. The court also claimed that since this was a second marriage for both parties, there was no possibility of dowry demands.
The Supreme Court, however, dismissed these contentions of the family court and ordered the respondent-husband to pay the appellant-wife a monthly maintenance of ₹4,000.
