Gujarat High Court Allows Muslim Mutual Consent Divorce Without Written Agreement

The Gujarat High Court ruled that spouses can obtain a Mubaraat (mutual consent divorce) without any written agreement for such a divorce. 

A Bench of Justices AY Kogje and NS Sanjay Gowda overturned a family court’s April order, finding that Muslim personal law and the Quran do not mandate a written Mubaraat contract. 

The Court held that verbal mutual consent, “utterance of ‘Kabul’ before witnesses”, suffices to dissolve a Nikah. It was noted that neither Nikahnama registration nor a formal document is essential for Mubaraat under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. 

The family court must now reconsider the couple’s divorce plea on merit within three months.