Islamic Marriages May Be Ended by Verbal Mutual Consent, says Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that a Muslim marriage can be dissolved through ‘Mubaraat’, a form of divorce wherein couples can end their marriage through verbal mutual consent without a written agreement in place.

A bench of Justices AY Kogje and NS Sanjay Gowda made the observation while recently setting aside a Rajkot family court order which rejected a suit filed by a Muslim couple seeking dissolution of marriage by ‘Mubaraat, a form of



divorce by mutual consent.

The bench sent the matter back to the family court and asked it to conclude the proceedings, preferably within three months.

Disagreeing with the family court’s stand that a written agreement is necessary to dissolve the wedlock, the HC, citing the Quran, Hadith and Muslim Personal Law, noted that such an agreement is not necessary if a Muslim couple seeks dissolution of marriage through mutual consent.