Dissolution Of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
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The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the situations in which
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
women in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
can obtain
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
. Its title and content refer to the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, which deals with
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
, succession and
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
among Muslims. The 1939 act (Act No. 8 of 1939) is meant to consolidate and clarify the provisions of
Muslim Law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
relating to suits for dissolution of marriage brought by women married under Muslim Law. The act received assent of the Governor-General on 17 March 1939. In Muslim law, the wife can claim divorce under extrajudicial or judicial modes. The extrajudicial modes are Talaaq-i-tafweez and Lian. The judicial mode is by Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939. The act defines the grounds for divorce and the procedure that applies. An important aspect of this law is Section 4 that states "The renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman or her conversion to faith other than Islam shall not by itself operate to dissolve her marriage".


Grounds for divorce

Under the act, a woman married under Muslim law shall be entitled to obtain a decree for the dissolution of her marriage on any one or more of the following grounds, (i) that the whereabouts of the husband have not been known for a period of four years ; (ii) that the husband has neglected or has failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years ; (iii) that the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of seven years or upwards ; (iv) that the husband has failed to perform, without reasonable cause his marital obligations for a period of three years ; continues to be so: (v) that the husband was
impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection with sufficient rigidity and duration for sati ...
at the time of the marriage and (vi) that the husband has been insane for a period of two years or is suffering from
leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
or a virulent
venereal disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
; (vii) that she, having been given in marriage by her father or other guardian before she attained the age of fifteen years, repudiated the marriage before attaining the age of eighteen years : Provided that the marriage has not been
consummated The consummation of a marriage, or simply consummation, is the first officially credited act of sexual intercourse following marriage. In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the definition usually refers to penile–vaginal p ...
; (viii) that the husband treats her with cruelty that is to say,- * habitually assaults her or makes her life miserable by ill-treatment, or of conduct even if such conduct does not amount to physical, life, or * associates with women of evil repute or leads an infamous * attempts to force her to lead an immoral life, or rights over it, or * disposes of her property or prevents her exercising her legal practice, or * obstructs her in the observance of her religious profession or * if he has more wives than one, does not treat her equitably in accordance with the instructions of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
; (ix) on any other ground which is recognized as valid for the dissolution of marriages under Muslim Law: Provided that, * no decree shall be passed on ground (iii) until the sentence has become final; * a decree passed on ground (i) shall not take effect for a period of six months from the date of such decree, and if the husband appears either in person or through an authorized agent within that period and satisfies the Court that he is prepared to perform his conjugal duties, the Court shall set aside the said decree; and * before passing a decree on ground (v) the Court shall on application by the husband, make an order requiring the husband to satisfy the Court, within a period of one year from the date of such order that he has ceased to be impotent, and if the husband so satisfies the Court within such period, no decree shall be passed on the said ground.


See also

* Muslim personal law in India


References

{{Reflist


External links


Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
Divorce law in India Divorce in Islam Sharia in India