Rajasthan High Court recognises Mubarat divorce, sets aside Family Court refusal

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has set aside a Family Court order refusing to recognise the dissolution of a Muslim marriage and has declared the marriage dissolved on the basis of Mubarat, a form of divorce by mutual consent recognised under Muslim personal law.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Arun Monga and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit allowed a civil miscellaneous appeal filed by Ayasha Chouhan, overturning the judgment dated April 3, 2025, passed by the Family Court at Merta, Nagaur Ayasha-Chouhan.

The appeal arose from the Family Court’s refusal to grant a declaration that the marriage between the appellant and her husband, Waseem Khan, stood dissolved, despite both parties admitting that talaq had been pronounced in three successive tuhr periods and that a written divorce agreement by mutual consent had been executed.

According to the High Court record, the parties were married on February 27, 2022, in accordance with Muslim customs. Disputes arose soon thereafter, and the husband pronounced talaq on June 8, July 8 and August 8, 2024, each during separate tuhr periods. The wife accepted the pronouncements, and the parties subsequently executed a stamped Mubarat agreement on August 20, 2024, recording the dissolution of marriage and settlement of maintenance and other claims.

The Family Court, however, dismissed the wife’s suit seeking declaration of marital dissolution under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, holding that the talaq was invalid as it was not pronounced in the presence of two witnesses.

The High Court disagreed with this view, observing that the Family Court had misapplied legal principles applicable to Shia law, whereas the parties in the present case were governed by Sunni Muslim law, under which the presence of witnesses is not mandatory for the validity of talaq. The Bench noted that the factum of talaq pronounced in three successive tuhrs was admitted by both parties and stood proved on record.

The court further held that Mubarat, being a mutual divorce by consent, is a recognised mode of dissolution under Muslim personal law. It observed that once the court is satisfied about the voluntariness and genuineness of such an agreement, it is well within the jurisdiction of the Family Court under Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, to declare the marital status accordingly.

Allowing the appeal, the High Court set aside the Family Court judgment and passed a decree declaring that the marriage between the parties stood dissolved. The Bench also noted that Family Courts in Rajasthan were routinely rejecting petitions seeking recognition of extra-judicial divorces under Muslim law and laid down guiding observations for courts to follow while dealing with such cases in future.

The appeal was accordingly disposed of.

Case Title
Ayasha Chouhan vs Waseem Khan
D.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 1319/2025
High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur

Advocates
For the appellant: Mr. Vishal Sharma
For the respondent: Mr. Ravindra Kumar Purohit