RANCHI: In a significant judgement, the Jharkhand High Court has ruled that an ex-husband’s refusal to remarry his former wife after ‘halala’ does not constitute a cognizable offence.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, while hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by Imran Hussain, said a woman cannot compel her ex-husband to remarry or file a fresh criminal case solely because he refused to do so.
According to the petition, the couple had divorced earlier, after which the woman married another man as part of the halala process under Muslim personal law. She later expressed a desire to remarry her first husband, but he refused.
Following his refusal, the woman filed a criminal complaint against him at Dhanwar police station in Giridih under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Dowry Prohibition Act and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. The ex-husband subsequently approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail.
The advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner informed the court that he was the woman's former husband. The woman had previously lodged a case in 2020 based on similar allegations, but a settlement was subsequently reached between the two parties. The ex-husband also claimed that his wife used to harass him over issues relating to insufficient financial support and his inability to provide a lavish lifestyle.
The defence counsel submitted that a complaint based on similar allegations had earlier been filed and later converted into an FIR. In the meantime, the couple divorced and the woman has since remarried.
The complainant opposed the the ex-husband's plea for anticipatory bail. Her counsel informed the court that a settlement had been reached in the earlier case, during which the ex-husband had assured the woman that he would remarry her, but later refused to do so.
Considering the facts of the case, the HC noted that it was an admitted fact that the woman had previously lodged a case in 2020 based on similar allegations, which was later settled. A divorce had already taken place and the woman had married another man.
She later expressed a desire to remarry her first husband, but he refused. The court observed that a husband's refusal to remarry does not provide the wife with grounds to file a new criminal case or FIR solely on that basis. Such a refusal by the husband is neither a cognizable offence nor unlawful under Muslim personal law or general criminal law.
“Admittedly, the divorce has taken place and the informant has already solemnized marriage with another man. If the husband refuses, the wife does not have a basis to file a fresh criminal case or the FIR, because the husband’s refusal does not amount to a cognizable offence or a legal wrong under Muslim personal law or the general criminal law,” stated the court order.
The documents do not identify any provision under which the wife can compel re-marriage or file a fresh suit based solely on the husband’s refusal after halala is completed, I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to petitioner, it said.
