LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has held that intimation to the chairman union council within 90 days of pronouncement of Talaq is not a statutory precondition for revocation of Talaq.
The court observed that during 90-day period, the husband retains the right to revoke the Talaq either expressly or by any unequivocal conduct indicating such intent. The court remarked that where the Talaq is revoked within the aforementioned period, the marriage continues to subsist in law, regardless of the form in which the divorce was originally pronounced (including Talaq-ul-bidaat).
The court passed this order on a petition of Jameel Ahmed who approached the court to get an FIR quashed registered by his wife alleging him of rape during period of Talaq.
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The court said, under Section 7(3) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO), a Talaq does not become legally effective until the expiry of 90 days from the date on which notice is received by the Chairman of the Union Council, unless it is revoked earlier. The court said, section 7(3) precludes the Talaq from taking effect for a specified period, during which the parties continue to be the husband and wife in law.
The court said the legal effect of divorce under Islamic law without compliance with Section 7 has limited recognition only in prosecutions for Zina, where the Shariat Appellate Bench has held that such divorces, though unnotified, may still be valid under Shariah. This exception does not apply to the offence of rape under section 376 PPC, the court added.
The court, however, observed that a divorce by Mubara’at, once duly executed and communicated to the chairman, is irrevocable, and the husband has no authority to withdraw from it unilaterally. The court said in the present case, the marital bond between the petitioner and respondent existed in law at the time of alleged occurrence.
The court observed that the petitioner’s conduct may be considered immoral or inappropriate under religious or social norms, but he cannot be prosecuted under section 376 PPC because, on the facts pleaded in the FIR, the essential ingredients of the offence are not disclosed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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