Overview

• A division bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and B.R. Madhusudhan Rao ruled on June 24 that a Muslim wife can unilaterally dissolve her marriage through Khula without needing her husband’s consent.
• The court held that obtaining a Khulanama from a Mufti or Dar-ul-Qaza is not compulsory because such certificates are advisory and lack legal enforceability.
• Judges specified that courts need only verify the wife’s intention to seek Khula, ensure an attempt at reconciliation, and then affix a judicial stamp on the divorce.
• Upon a valid Khula demand, the husband may negotiate the return of the dower (Mehr) but cannot block the divorce itself.
• Grounded in Quran Chapter II, Verses 228–229, the judgment is set to provide a clear legal framework and enhance the autonomy of Muslim women in India seeking divorce.