Unlike men, Muslim women should take divorce for second marriage: Punjab and Haryana High Court

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New Delhi: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has said that a Muslim man can marry another woman without taking a divorce from the first wife, but a Muslim woman has to take a divorce for her second marriage.

The Muslim woman will have to get a divorce from her first husband under the Muslim Marriage Act 1939.

Justice Alka Sarin pronounced the judgment while hearing a petition that sought the protection of a Muslim couple of Mewat district in Haryana.

The couple told the High Court that they were both married in the past. The Muslim woman alleged that her first marriage was against her will and that is why she is now married to her lover. 

The High Court was told that the couple's family members were against their marriage. The family members were also threatening to kill the couple and evict them from the property. 

During the hearing, the couple's lawyer told the bench that the couple is Muslim and according to the religion, they are allowed the second marriage. 

On this, the Bench stated that the couple's marriage is illegal as a Muslim man can marry more than once without divorcing his first wife, but if a Muslim woman has to marry someone, she will have to divorce her first husband under the Muslim Marriage Act 1939.

The news comes almost two years after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 was introduced. It prohibits divorce by pronouncing 'talaq' thrice in one occasion by Muslim women's husbands. It makes instant triple talaq a cognizable offence and may attract up to three years of imprisonment and a fine. Under the act, an accused can be arrested without a warrant.