ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Supreme Court said in an order released on Wednesday that approval of the first wife and an arbitration council was mandatory for a man to enter into a second marriage.
The Supreme Court also upheld a judgment of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) ordering a man, if he married for a second time, to immediately pay mehr to his first wife. Mehr is an Islamic obligation of money or possessions given by the groom to the wife at the time of marriage.
Having multiple wives is common in about a quarter of the world’s nations, predominantly conservative male-dominated communities in Africa and Muslim-majority countries where it is part of traditional or religious customs.
But campaigners say most polygamous marriages fuel poverty — with husbands neglecting one family over another — leaving thousands of women and children impoverished and easy prey for exploitation.
In Pakistan, polygamy is not widespread and is mostly common in rural areas in families without a male heir or in cases when men fell in love with another woman.
The court order released on Wednesday was issued on a petition filed by Muhammad Jamil against a 2018 PHC judgment regarding a suit filed by his ex-wife Sajida Bibi seeking the recovery of mehr, dowry articles, gold ornaments and maintenance.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, said Jamil married for a second time without the permission of his first wife or an arbitration council.
Section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, prohibits contracting second marriage without prior permission in writing from the council, the court said.
The court said Jamil was liable to pay his first wife the dower immediately under Section 6(5)(a) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, which reads: “Any man who contracts another marriage without the permission of the Arbitration Council shall [...] pay immediate the entire amount of dower whether prompt or deferred, due to the existing wife or wives which amount, if not so paid shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.”
“It is now abundantly clear that the entire amount of dower fixed at the time of marriage whether prompt or deferred is immediately payable on account of second marriage,” the court said.
Noting that the provision of Section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance matched Islamic injunctions, the judgment noted that the law “has not placed any restriction to contract second marriage, rather it only relates to seeking permission before entering into second marriage in order to regulate the structure of society as a whole.”
In a ruling last year, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah said a man would be punished if he entered into a second marriage unless it was approved by a reconciliation council and his wife.
According to Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, the federal government is responsible for establishing an “arbitration council” for the amicable settlement of disputes in a locality. The council comprises a panel of seven members, including at least one woman, who are nominated for a term of five years.
